Walker v. United States

8 Cust. Ct. 316, 1942 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 53
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedMay 6, 1942
DocketC. D. 628
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 8 Cust. Ct. 316 (Walker v. United States) 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
Walker v. United States, 8 Cust. Ct. 316, 1942 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 53 (cusc 1942).

Opinion

Dallinger, Judge:

Tbis is a suit against the United States, arising at the port of Chicago, brought to recover certain customs duties alleged to have been improperly exacted on a particular importation of so-called “Notek driving lights.” Duty was levied thereon at the rate of 45 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 397 of the Tariff. Act of 1930 as manufactures of metal not specially provided for. It is claimed that said articles are properly dutiable at the rate of 25 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 369 of said act as parts of automobiles, or alternatively, at the rate of 35 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 353 of said act as parts of articles having as an essential feature an electrical element or device; or at the rate of 25 per centum ad valorem under the following provision incorporated in said paragraph 353 by virtue of the trade agreement entered into between the United States and the United Kingdom promulgated in T. D. 49753, 74 Treas. Dec. 253, which provision reads:

Electrical signaling, radio, welding, and ignition apparatus, instruments (other than laboratory), and devices, electrical generators, transformers, converters, double current and motor generators, dynamotors, and all other articles suitable for producing, rectifying, modifying, controlling, or distributing electrical energy, .and articles having as an essential feature an electrical element or device, such as electric motors, locomotives, portable tools, furnaces, heaters, ovens, refrigerators, and signs (except telephone- wiring, diagnostic, and therapeutic apparatus, [317]*317instruments, and devices, primary cells, flashlights, switches, switch gear, fans, blowers, washing machines, and machines not herein provided for by name which would be dutiable under paragraph 372, Tariff Act of 1930, if of a kind which could be designed to operate without such electrical element or device, and except articles of a class or kind with respect to which United States import duties have been reduced or bound against increase pursuant to any agreement heretofore concluded under section 350 of such act, as amended); all the foregoing, not specially provided for, finished or unfinished, wholly or in chief value of metal, and not provided for heretofore in any item numbered 353 in this schedule.

At tbe hearing, held at Chicago on February 29, 1940, the plaintiff, William E. Walker, appeared in his own behalf and, after identifying a sample of said merchandise which was admitted in evidence as exhibit 1, testified in part as follows:

Q. Are you familiar with the manner in which Exhibit 1 is used? — A. I am.
Q. Will you please state what it is used as? — A. It is fitted to the front of an automobile or truck, to provide better vision at night.
Q. I show you a photograph, and ask you if a lamp such as Exhibit 1 is shown thereon?- — -A. Yes, sir.

At this juncture, the witness marked the place where the lamp is depicted on the photograph of the auto-truck, which photograph was admitted in evidence as illustrative exhibit A. The witness also made a circle around the lamp as shown on another photograph of an auto-truck, which photograph was admitted in evidence as illustrative exhibit B.

The witness then proceeded to testify in part as follows:

Q. Mr. Walker, I noticed that in Illustrative Exhibits A and B, the lamps which you have encircled are in addition to the two regular lamps which are attached to the truck. — A. That is right.
Q. Will you please state what is the purpose of the additional lamp, the one which you have encircled? — A. It provides an auxiliary lighting system, plus the fact that it is more suitable during adverse weather conditions.
Q. You mean at night, of course? — A. That is right.
Q. Will you tell us why that is? — A. If I may use a comparison, driving with a Notek light is similar to driving on a wide road as compared to driving in a tunnel. We have wide angle illumination as compared with intense spot illumination in conventional lights.
* * * ** * *
By Mr. Schwartz.
Q. Have you made a study of the matter of driving lights? — A. I have.
Q. What did that study consist of? — A. Well, it consisted of making direct comparisons between present lights available on the American market versus the Notek driving light. These tests were made by disinterested companies in some cases, and in all cases the type of illumination provided by Notek was far superior to anything today in lights.
Q. I show you a photograph, and ask you to state what that represents. — A. This is a picture of a section of a road, with a bend to the right about 150 to 200 feet of the car. The camera was placed to the left' of the car on the road, and exposed for 30 seconds, giving the illumination effect of conventional lights on a 1935 La Salle automobile.
^ if: :Jí % # * ‡
[318]*318[Photograph referred to was received in evidence and marked as Plaintiff’s Illustrative Exhibit C * * *.]
Q. I show you another photograph and ask you to state what that represents. A. This is the same time, same section of road, same exposure, same camera, taken directly after the first exhibit, with the exception that instead of conventional lights, we used two Notek driving lights for illumination effects.
• iH % if: # ‡ #
[Photograph referred to was received in evidence and marked as Plaintiff’s Illustrative Exhibit D * * *.] ,
Q. Do you consider it safe to drive at night without the use of a light such as Exhibit 1? — A. I don’t think it is safe.
* * H= ' * * H= Hi
Q. Under what conditions do you consider it unsafe to drive a car, or automobile, or truck, without one of these Notek driving lights? — A. High speed driving when visibility is anything except perfect after the sun is down.
Q. Why is that? — A. Due to the wide angle of the light,.and as is the case in most good lights, they glare so much that it makes it hard on the on-coming driver.
. Q. Is it, in your opinion, ever impossible to drive at night without one of these Notek driving lights? — A. Very definitely.
Q. Under what conditions? — A. Snow, rain, or some cases, fog.
Q. What is the advantage of using one of these Notek driving lights under such conditions, over the use of a conventional light? — A. By virtue of the ability of the light to confine all its illumination in one band rather than have a lot of rays. That band of light stays close to the road.
Q. I note that the invoice describes these lamps as being complete with cable, switch, and bulb. — A. That is right.
Q. Will you please state whether, as imported, the lamps had cables attached to them? — A. They did.
Q. And did they also contain bulbs? — A.- Yes, sir.
Q. And did the carton in which they were imported, also contain switches?— A.

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Bluebook (online)
8 Cust. Ct. 316, 1942 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 53, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/walker-v-united-states-cusc-1942.