United States v. UPS Supply Chain Solutions, Inc.

269 F. Supp. 3d 1366, 2017 CIT 134
CourtUnited States Court of International Trade
DecidedSeptember 29, 2017
DocketCourt 16-00010; Slip Op. 17-134
StatusPublished

This text of 269 F. Supp. 3d 1366 (United States v. UPS Supply Chain Solutions, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of International Trade primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. UPS Supply Chain Solutions, Inc., 269 F. Supp. 3d 1366, 2017 CIT 134 (cit 2017).

Opinion

OPINION and ORDER

Gordon, Judge:

Before the court is the motion of Defendant 4174925 Canada, Inc. d/b/a Majestic Mills (“Majestic Mills”) to dismiss the cross-claims brought by co-Defendant UPS Supply Chain Solutions, Inc. (“UPS”), pursuant to USCIT Rule 12(b)(1) for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and USCIT Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. See Def. Majestic Mills’ Mem. Supp. Mot. to Dismiss UPS’s Cross-Claim, ECF No. 55 (“Majestic Mills’ Mot.”); see also UPS’s Answer & Cross-Claim, ECF No. 39 (“UPS’s Cross-Claim”); Majestic Mills’ Answer to Cross-Claim, ECF No. 50 (“Majestic Mills’ Cross-Claim Answer”); UPS’s Resp. in Opp’n to Majestic Mills’ Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 61 (“UPS’s Resp.”); Majestic Mills’ Reply in Supp. of Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 66 (“Majestic Mills’ Reply”). As discussed further below, the court has subject-matter jurisdiction over UPS’s cross-claim pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1583(1). The court, though, does grant in part Majestic Mills’ motion to dismiss pursuant to USCIT Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim.

I. Background

In the underlying action, Plaintiff United States, on behalf of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“Customs”), brought claims against Majestic Mills, UPS, American Service Insurance Co. (“ASI”), and Great American Alliance Insurance Co. *1369 (“Great American”) (collectively, “Defendants”) for unpaid duties and civil penalties under Section 592 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, 19 U.S.C. § 1592(a) and (d) (2012). 1 See Am. Compl. ¶¶ 1, 3, ECF No. 15. Majestic Mills is a Canadian manufacturer of women’s apparel and UPS is the customs broker and nominal importer of record of approximately 272 entries of wearing apparel and fabrics (“subject merchandise”) on behalf of Majestic Mills. See UPS’s Cross-Claim at 6; Majestic Mills’ Mot. at 2-3; UPS’s Resp. at 1-2. Great American and ASI served as sureties on bonds guaranteeing payment of all duties, taxes, and fees due to the United States on Majestic Mills’ entries of-the subject merchandise. See Am. Compl. ¶¶ 8-13. Relying on information provided by Majestic Mills, UPS claimed preferential tariff treatment to Customs on these imports under NAFTA Rules of Origin. See Am. Compl. ¶¶ 15-17; UPS’s Cross-Claim at 2-3. After Majestic Mills filed an attempted prior disclosure with Customs pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1592(c)(5) to correct the classification of its imports, Customs demanded payment from Defendants for unpaid duties and fees. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 20-39. UPS, ASI, and Great American have all settled with the United States, and so the only claims presently remaining before the court are Plaintiffs claim against Majestic Mills, Majestic Mills’ counterclaim against Plaintiff, and UPS’s cross-claim against Majestic Mills. See PL’s Resp. to Mot. to Extend Proceedings (Sept. 9, 2016), ECF No. 45 (explaining settlement with ASI); Order Pursuant to R. 41(a) Dismissing Claims Against ASI (Oct. 5, 2016), ECF No. 48; Joint Motion to Dismiss Claims Against UPS & Great American (Aug. 8, 2017), ECF No. 67 (noting settlement with UPS & Great American); Order Pursuant to R. 41(a)(2) Dismissing Claims Against UPS and Great American (Aug. 9, 2017), ECF No. 70.

In its cross-claim, UPS alleges four causes of action against Majestic Mills. See UPS’s Cross-Claim. The first cause of action is for indemnification, as UPS alleges that Majestic Mills agreed to indemnify UPS from any liabilities arising from the importation of the subject merchandise through a series of contractual agreements between the two parties. Id. at 8-10. The other three causes of action—breach of contract, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation—stem from Majestic Mills’ provision of inacctirate information to UPS upon which UPS relied to make tariff classifications to Customs. Id at 10-13. Majestic Mills moves to dismiss UPS’s cross-claim on various grounds, including lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, inadequate pleading of UPS’s claims, and for filing suit outside the applicable statute of limitations. See Majestic Mills’ Mot.

II. Standard of Review

The claimant carries “the burden of demonstrating that jurisdiction exists.” Techsnabexport, Ltd. v. United States, 16 CIT 420, 422, 795 F.Supp. 428, 432 (1992) (citing McNutt v. Gen. Motors Acceptance Corp., 298 U.S. 178, 189, 56 S.Ct. 780, 80 L.Ed. 1135 (1936)). If the court determines at any time that it lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, the court must dismiss the action. USCIT Rule 12(h)(3). In deciding a USCIT Rule 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss that does not challenge the factual basis for the complainant’s allegations and a US-CIT Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can granted, the court assumes all factual *1370 allegations to be true and draws all reasonable inferences in the claimant’s favor. Henke v. United States, 60 F.3d 795, 797 (Fed. Cir. 1995) (subject-matter jurisdiction); Cedars-Sinai Med. Ctr. v. Watkins, 11 F.3d 1573, 1583-84 & n.13 (Fed. Cir. 1993) (failure to state a claim).

For Rule. 12(b)(6) motions, a claimant’s, factual allegations must be “enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true, (even if doubtful in fact).” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). “To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to 'state a claim of relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955).

III. Discussion

A. Subject-Matter Jurisdiction:;

To adjudicate a case, a court must have subject-matter jurisdiction over the claims presented. See Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Env’t, 523 U.S. 83, 94-95, 118 S.Ct. 1003, 140 L.Ed.2d 210 (1998). “[W]hen, a federal court concludes that it lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, the court must dismiss the [claim] in its entirety.” Arbaugh v. Y & H Corp., 546 U.S. 500, 514, 126 S.Ct. 1235, 163 L.Ed.2d 1097 (2006). Majestic Mills argues that the court lacks jurisdiction over UPS’s cross-claim, on two distinct grounds.

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Bluebook (online)
269 F. Supp. 3d 1366, 2017 CIT 134, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-ups-supply-chain-solutions-inc-cit-2017.