United States v. Mine Safety Appliances Co.

55 Cust. Ct. 764, 1965 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2328
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedSeptember 27, 1965
DocketA.R.D. 197; Entry No. 1322, etc.
StatusPublished

This text of 55 Cust. Ct. 764 (United States v. Mine Safety Appliances Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Customs Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Mine Safety Appliances Co., 55 Cust. Ct. 764, 1965 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2328 (cusc 1965).

Opinions

Richardson, Judge:

This is an application which was filed by the Government seeking a review of the decision and judgment of a single judge sitting in reappraisement in Mine Safety Appliances Company v. United States, 52 Cust. Ct. 465, Reap. Dec. 10691, and holding that cost of production, as defined in 19 U.S.C.A., section 1402(f) (section 402(f), Tariff Act of 1930), is the proper basis for determining the value of parts of miners’ safety lamps that were exported from Scotland and entered at Pittsburgh, Pa. It is appellant’s contention that foreign value, as defined in 19 U.S.C.A., section 1402(c) (section 402 (c), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended), and representing the appraised values herein, constitutes the proper basis for determining the value of the subject merchandise.

The evidence which was before the single judge consists of an affidavit of Richard Crawford, managing director of Mine Safety Appliances Company, Ltd., which company is the manufacturer and exporter of the involved merchandise (plaintiff’s exhibit 1), the testimony of Robert E. Havener, an electrical engineer and the product line manager for the plaintiff-importer, and a letter from the [766]*766exporter to the importer to which is attached a pricelist for the model “L” lamp and accessories (defendant’s exhibit A). The material portion of Mr. Crawford’s affidavit is set forth in paragraph 8 thereof and reads as follows:

From the knowledge gained as a result of my experience, associations and study as set forth above, I can state that:
a) During my tenure of office as Managing Director, MSAC, LTD. has been and now is the sole manufacturer or producer of mine safety lamps and parts therefor in Scotland;
b) Since incorporation it has been the practice in the trade of MSAC, LTD to offer for sale and to sell mine safety lamps and parts thereof either directly or through agents or representatives acting for and on behalf of MSAC, LTD for home consumption in Scotland to those purchasers only who purchased these products for their own úse and consumption and not for resale to others and to offer them for sale and to sell for exportation to the United States of America to MSAC, USA, exclusively.
c) It was the long established practice in the trade of MSAC, USA to offer for sale and to sell'mine safety lamps and parts thereof of MSAC, LTD manufacture imported into the United States of America, to those purchasers only who bought them for their own use and consumption and,not for resale to others;
d) During my tenure of office as Managing Director of MSAC, LTD mine safety lamps and parts thereof of other than MSAC, LTD manufacture and produced outside of Scotland were offered for sale and sold for home consumption in Scotland; to the best of my knowledge they were not offered for sale and sold in Scotland for exportation to the United States of America. The principal manufacturers other than MSAC LTD of lamps being sold or offered for sale in Scotland were:
Oldham Limited — Lead-Acid Lamp, manufactured mainly of lead, hard rubber and steel.
Nife Limited —Nickel Cadmium Lamp, manufactured mainly of nickel, cadmium, steel and rubber.
Ceag Limited —Nickel Cadmium Lamp, manufactured mainly of nickel cadmium, steel and rubber.
e) It was the long established practice in the trade in Scotland at all times herein mentioned to offer to sell and to sell the mine safety lamps and parts thereof the subject of paragraph 8, subdivision d, herein and next preceding, either directly or through agents or representatives acting for and on behalf of manufacturers or producers thereof to purchasers who bought these products for their own use and consumption and for home consumption in Scotland only;
f) It was the industry-wide policy in 'Scotland to limit offers for sale and sales of commercially produced mine safety lamps and parts thereof of any kind, description or manufacture for home consumption in Scotland to buyers who purchased these products for their own use and in the aforesaid established course of trade no commercially produced mine safety lamps or parts thereof of any kind, description or manufacture were, at any of the times herein mentioned, offered for sale or sold for home consumption in Scotland to purchasers, such as retailers, dealers, wholesalers, etc., who purchased these products for the purpose of reselling them to others.

[767]*767It was also stated in Mr. Crawford’s affidavit, among other things, that the exporting company is a subsidiary of the importing company.

With regard to sales and offers made by the plaintiff-importer in this country of the involved lamps and parts, the testimony of Mr. Havener is as follows (direct examination) :

Q. Who did you sell this merchandise to? — A. The merchandise was sold to the coal and metal mining companies in the United States and to Thomas A. Edison.
Q. Do you know the purpose they used it for? — A. The purpose was as a cap lamp for the miners to use as a light source underground.
Q. In other words, they use it in the manufacture of mine safety lamps, is that right? — A. Yes, sir.
Q. And those mine safety lamps that are manufactured by them are sold in the United States, is that right? — A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you know whether or not any of these parts before the court are offered for sale or sold for resale in the United States? — A. None of them.
Q. At any of the times? — A. None during this period of time.

After colloquy between the court and counsel, Mr. Havener further testified:

Q. Are there any other mine lamps or parts of mine lamps imported from Scotland into the United States and offered for sale or sold in the United States that you know of? — A. No, sir.
Q. Would you know of any if there were? — A. I certainly would.
Q. In connection with your duties, is that so? — A. Yes, as responsible for sales, yes.
Q. Let me understand you, there are no mine safety lamps or parts of mine safety lamps imported into the United States from Scotland by anybody that are offered for sale or sold in the United States, is that what you say? — A. Yes.

And after further colloquy between the court and counsel, Mr. Havener testified as follows:

Q. You said that these lamps and parts of lamps the subject of this importation, and, incidentally, the only ones imported into the United States, are sold to Edison Company, right, and Edison Company incorporates these parts in another article, right? — A. Yes, sir.
Q. A mine safety lamp? — A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is that also true of the other company that you mention? You mentioned some other company? — A. The other company does not manufacture or does not import any mine safety parts.
Q. What was the name of that other company? — A. Kohler Manufacturing.
Q. What do they do? — A. They manufacture a lamp similar to ours.
Q.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
55 Cust. Ct. 764, 1965 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2328, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-mine-safety-appliances-co-cusc-1965.