United States v. Rodier, Inc.

5 Cust. Ct. 580, 1940 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3269
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedNovember 1, 1940
DocketNo. 5043; Entry No. 817988, etc.
StatusPublished

This text of 5 Cust. Ct. 580 (United States v. Rodier, Inc.) 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. Rodier, Inc., 5 Cust. Ct. 580, 1940 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3269 (cusc 1940).

Opinion

Tilson, Judge:

The question involved in the applications for review listed in schedule A, hereto attached and made a part hereof, is the proper dutiable foreign value of certain yarn-dyed and piece-dyed goods imported from Paris, France. In each of said appeals entry was made under duress to meet advances made by the appraiser in a similar case which was then pending on appeal to reappraisement. The test case was reappraisement No. 106712-A, which was the subject of decision by the trial court, as reported in Reap. Dec. 3437, which in turn was the subject of review by the Third Division of this court, Reap. Dec. 3601, and the decision was in turn the subject of review by the appellate court, 23 C. O. P. A. 336, In each of these decisions, which were participated in by nine judges, the importer’s claimed values were found to be the proper dutiable foreign values.

The appeals now before us are so-called duress entry cases, in which the importer made certain additions on entry to meet advances made by the appraiser in reappraisement 106712-A.

At the trial of this case the importer offered and there was admitted evidence without objection the record in the original test case, sufra. No other evidence was offered by the importer. The Government offered and there were received in evidence a special agent’s report, dated September 29, 1936, which was marked exhibit 1 for identification and later marked exhibit 1; a special agent’s report dated January 27, 1937, which was marked exhibit 2 for identification and later marked exhibit 2, and a special agent’s report dated January 23, 1937, which was marked exhibit 3 for identification and later marked exhibit 3. Exhibit 3 in and of itself is nothing more than a letter from the special agent to the Commissioner of Customs transmitting nine affidavits. These affidavits will be referred to and discussed later, but exhibit 3 in and of itself need be given no further consideration. This constitutes all the evidence before us.

With reference to exhibit 1 the trial court found as follows:

These two sales, as reported by the special agent, were undated and there is nothing in the various items of merchandise, in the absence of samples, from which to determine that the merchandise contained in these sales was similar [582]*582to the merchandise involved in the appeals before us. In fact, even if the merchandise itself were similar, the superscription over the prices in these sales, namely “Joblot” or “Job” would clearly infer that the sales were not usual sales. On any and all counts the record of these sales cannot be accepted as controlling evidence in the cases at bar.

It bas never been our understanding that undated sales could be considered as evidence of the value of any merchandise. Such sales, might-have been made on the date of exportation or they might have been made 10 years prior or 10 years subsequent to the date of exportation, and, not being able to determine from an undated sale-just when the same was made, the same would be too indefinite and uncertain to be given any consideration or weight as evidence. We find no error in the ruling of the trial court above set out, and its decision in that respect is affirmed.

With reference to said exhibit 1 the trial court further found as follows:

These sales are dated but the dates are, with a few exceptions, so much later than the latest shipment, May, 1935, involved in the case at bar as to be of no importance as evidence herein. The exceptions mentioned above relate to merchandise, such as “silk scarves” or “rayon” fabrics which is not involved in the appeals before us and, therefore, has no connection with the present case.

We find no error with the above ruling of the trial court and its decision in this respect is affirmed.

We also agree with the finding of the trial court that “ * * * Exhibit 2 for identification contains nothing of evidential value in itself * * * ” and that it “consists entirely of summaries by the special agent of the information, as he interprets it, of what is contained in the affidavits obtained by him from several French dealers.”

Referring to exhibit 3, which consists of affidavits obtained by the special agent from French dealers, the trial court found as follows:

The larger number of these Trench dealers when shown the samples that the special agent had obtained from Rodier (presumably those in exhibit A) made affidavit that they did sell merchandise similar to that sold by Rodier and attached to their respective affidavits samples of such of their goods as they considered similar to those sold by Rodier. * * *
A careful comparison of each sample attached to the affidavits in exhibit 3 with each of the samples in exhibit 1-A reveals that only two or at most three samples could be considered similar in an.y way and that these, in the absence of analysis, cannot be considered comparable.
The net- result of the Government’s new evidence is, therefore, to leave unchanged the state of facts passed upon in the incorporated case and gives no reason for departing from the decision and judgment therein.

In tbe old record, exbibit 7, Paul Rodier, tbe present exporter, made affidavit in .part as follows:

That a wholesale quantity of woolen dress goods, according to the custom of the trade in the markets of Trance for almost half a century, is always more than a single piece of fabric of one pattern and color and is ordinarily about 100 meters of one pattern and color for yarn-dyed fabrics and about 300 meters of one pat[583]*583tern in one or more colors, for piece-dyed fabrics; that a wholesale quantity and a usual wholesale quantity of woolen dress goods as thus explained are the quantities in which such dress goods are generally sold by the French woolen dress goods industry in the markets of France; and that the sales in such quantities far outnumber and greatly exceed in volume the business done in that trade in smaller quantities.

Qualifying himself to make the above statement, the said Rodier stated as follows:

That he is managing director of Rodier of No. 3 Rue des Moulins, Paris, France, * * * in existence since 1853, and engaged in the manufacture and sale of dress goods made of wool, cotton, silk, rayon, or linen, and a few articles made of one or more of those materials; that he has been associated with that company for 48 years; and that he is familiar with its products, their prices, and the terms and conditions under which they have been sold for consumption in France and for exportation to other countries.

Charles Fernand Rocoffort, manager of Rodier of Paris, testified that their sales are made at the wholesale quantity price, which is the general rule applying in France; that a wholesale quantity in the dress goods industry in France is from 100 to 300 meters, 100 meters for yarn-dyed goods and 300 meters for piece-dyed goods; that the usual quantities of woolen dress goods sold by the French woolen dress goods industry in France is 100 meters per color in one pattern of yarn-dyed goods and 300 meters per pattern, which may include more than one color, in piece-dyed goods.

With reference to a usual wholesale quantity of this merchandise Eugene Altmeyer, in exhibit 6 of the old record, made affidavit as follows :

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5 Cust. Ct. 580, 1940 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3269, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-rodier-inc-cusc-1940.