Source: http://openjurist.org/439/f2d/63/penney-company-v-united-states-treasury-department
Timestamp: 2017-07-21 15:34:26
Document Index: 539060770

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 160', '§ 1582', '§ 1340', '§ 12', '§ 1582', '§ 1582', '§ 307', '§ 1124', '§ 1241', '§ 1514']

439 F2d 63 Penney Company v. United States Treasury Department | OpenJurist
439 F. 2d 63 - Penney Company v. United States Treasury Department HomeFederal Reporter, Second Series 439 F.2d.
439 F2d 63 Penney Company v. United States Treasury Department 439 F.2d 63
J. C. PENNEY COMPANY, Inc., Plaintiff-Appellant,v.The UNITED STATES TREASURY DEPARTMENT, the Bureau of Customs, David M. Kennedy, Secretary of the Treasury, Eugene T. Rossides, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Matthew J. Marks, Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and Myles Ambrose, Commissioner of Customs, individually and as officers and/or employees of the United States Treasury Department, or Bureau of Customs, Defendants-Appellees.
Docket 35682.
The Antidumping Act is designed to prevent actual or threatened harm to a domestic industry caused by the sale of merchandise in the United States at prices lower than in the country of origin. Cf. Note, "The Antidumping Act: Problems of Administration and Proposals for Change," 17 Stan.L.Rev. 730, 731 (1965). The procedure employed in making this determination, discussed thoroughly by the court below, is basically as follows: The Customs Bureau issues a "Withholding of Appraisement Notice" when the Commissioner of Customs has reason to suspect that imported goods are being sold at prices lower than in the exporter's home market. Within three months the Secretary of the Treasury must render an LTFV decision if he concludes that "a class or kind of foreign merchandise is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States or elsewhere at less than its fair value." 19 U.S.C. § 160(a). After the Treasury's decision, the Tariff Commission renders a decision as to whether or not there has been a real or threatened injury to a domestic industry. If it is found that such injury exists, the proceeding is returned to the Treasury Department for the publication of a dumping "finding." This step entails the imposition of a special dumping duty based on the pricing margins the Treasury has previously found. At this point the importer may file a protest with the Bureau of Customs and contest its denial in the Customs Court.
In 28 U.S.C. § 1582(a), as amended by section 110 of the Customs Courts Act of 1970, Pub.L. No. 91-271, 84 Stat. 274 (June 2, 1970), Congress has provided that the Customs Court shall have "exclusive jurisdiction" of all civil actions challenging an administrative decision, "including the legality of all orders and findings entering into the same," when that decision involves, inter alia, the appraised value of merchandise, the classification and rate and amount of duties chargeable, all charges or exactions within the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Treasury, or the exclusion of merchandise from entry or delivery under any provision of the customs laws. Also relevant is 28 U.S.C. § 1340, which provides:
In interpreting legislation such as that involved in this case, "[c]ourts must * * * look to the logic of Congress and to the broad national policy which prompted the legislation." Argosy Ltd. v. Hennigan, 404 F.2d 14, 20 (5 Cir. 1968). The precursor to the Customs Court, the Board of General Appraisers, was established by the Customs Administrative Act of 1890, ch. 407, §§ 12-14, 26 Stat. 137. The court itself was created by the Act of May 28, 1926, ch. 411, 44 Stat. 669, and was given all the powers of the Board of General Appraisers. Metzger & Musrey, "Judicial Review of Tariff Commission Actions and Proceedings," 56 Cornell L.Rev. 285 (1971). See generally, Johnson, "The United States Customs Court — Its History, Jurisdiction, and Procedure," 7 Oklahoma L.Rev. 393 (1954). Even in the early days of its existence, the Customs Court was recognized as having a broad jurisdiction to deal with matters related to questions of customs law. See Brown, "The United States Customs Court," at 15 (1933).
In 1948, Congress inserted into the United States Code two sections providing for the "exclusive jurisdiction" of the Customs Court. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1582, 1583. The legislative history of these enactments makes plain that the word "exclusive" was inserted on the basis of and in agreement with the decisions in Patchogue-Plymouth Mills Corp. v. Durning, 101 F.2d 41 (2d Cir. 1939), and David L. Moss Co., Inc. v. United States, 103 F.2d 395 (Cust. & Pat.App. 1939), "and cases cited therein." See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1582, 1583, Legislative History: Reviser's Note. These cases made clear their view that not only did the Customs Court have jurisdiction over customs matters, but that if that jurisdiction was to be exercised effectively in accordance with a complete, integral system of customs adjudication, it must be exclusive. In Moss, for example, the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals concluded that the Customs Court "is the tribunal established by Congress in the provision of a complete system of corrective justice for the administration of the customs laws, and questions involving the validity of official action in the imposition and collection of duties are properly cognizable before it to the exclusion of other courts." 103 F.2d at 397. This court in Patchogue expressed the view that the provisions of 28 U.S.C. §§ 307-310, which provided for exclusive appellate jurisdiction in the Court of Customs Appeals over decisions of the Customs Court, manifested an intention on the part of Congress to have litigation regarding customs matters conducted exclusively in the customs courts. 101 F. 2d at 43.
Courts have long recognized that the Customs Court has authority to adjudicate issues of a constitutional nature. Riccomini v. United States, supra. In Horton v. Humphrey, 146 F.Supp. 819 (D.D.C.), aff'd, 352 U.S. 921, 77 S.Ct. 224, 1 L.Ed.2d 157 (1956), the court rejected plaintiff's argument that the Customs Court cannot review the constitutionality of a law under which the Treasury Department acted, and it was held that the remedy in the Customs Court was exclusive. In Eastern States Petroleum Corp. v. Rogers, 108 U.S.App. D.C. 63, 280 F.2d 611 (1960), appellant attacked the tax rate imposed upon petroleum imports, charging that the increase in the duty from one-fourth to one-half cent per gallon was an unconstitutional exercise of power. Judge Bazelon, speaking for the court, held that an adequate and exclusive remedy for the alleged unconstitutional action was available to appellant in the Customs Court.
By enacting this provision, then, Congress has demonstrated its desire to have thorough and complete adjudication of constitutional questions in the customs court. Viewed in light of official Congressional adoption of the "complete system" approach in the 1948 legislation, the enactment of this section compels the conclusion that Congress intended the Customs Court to have exclusive original jurisdiction of constitutional questions arising out of customs litigation. The pattern of adjudication established by Congress provides for appeal from the Customs Court to the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals, with recourse to the Supreme Court through petition for certiorari. Horton v. Humphrey, supra, 146 F.Supp. at 820. Such a system provides an adequate means of vindicating legal rights [cf. Kreutz v. Durning, 69 F.2d 802 (2d Cir. 1934)], and there exists no reason for this court to tamper with it.
Penney cites several decisions for the proposition that Customs Court jurisdiction is far from exclusive, but these cases have no applicability to the facts of the case at bar. In Croton Watch Co. v. Laughlin, 208 F.2d 93 (2d Cir. 1953), this court found that the District Court had jurisdiction of a suit challenging the action of the Collector of Customs excluding the entry of plaintiffs' goods under 15 U.S.C. § 1124, which prohibited the importation of goods that copy or simulate the name or trademark of goods of an American manufacturer. Unlike the Antidumping Act, relevant in this case, that act was held to be not a part of the customs laws. Similarly in Precise Imports Corp. v. Kelly, 218 F. Supp. 494 (S.D.N.Y.1963) (Feinberg, J.), aff'd, 378 F.2d 1014 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 389 U.S. 973, 88 S.Ct. 472, 19 L. Ed.2d 465 (1967), it was held that jurisdiction existed in the District Court for a suit challenging the Collector's exclusion of imported knives on the ground that they were switchblades within the meaning of 15 U.S.C. §§ 1241 and 1242. The suit was permitted because these provisions made no mention of the Collector of Customs and were held to be essentially parts of a criminal statute, not provisions of the customs laws. 218 F.Supp. at 495, 378 F.2d at 1015-1016.
Penney asserts several other arguments, none of which in our opinion has merit. It is contended that since no protest can yet be filed, the Customs Court lacks present jurisdiction over the controversy. See 19 U.S.C. § 1514, as amended by section 207 and 208 of the Customs Courts Act of 1970, supra. We fully agree with the District Court, however, that "[t]he fact that the controversy may not be ripe for review by the Customs Court does not deprive that court of its exclusive jurisdiction and thereby vest this court with jurisdiction." [Footnote omitted.]
It is further urged that even acknowledging that generally exclusive jurisdiction over constitutional issues is vested in the Customs Court, there nevertheless exists a recognized judicial exception to this statutory rule when no adequate relief may be obtained in that court. We do not dispute the existence of such an exception. See, e. g., Waite v. Macy, 246 U.S. 606, 38 S.Ct. 395, 62 L.Ed. 892 (1918). The exception, however, is inapplicable to the case at bar. Penney argues that the exception is relevant in the present situation, since the Customs Court lacks equitable power to require the holding of a hearing. See, e. g., Cummins-Collins Distillers v. United States, 20 Cust.Ct. 93, 97, C.D. 1090, aff'd, 36 C.C.P.A. 88, C.A.D. 403 (1948). Thus the only remedy available to Penney is the obtaining of refunds of special dumping duties which may have been improperly assessed and paid. Though it may be true that the ordering of a hearing would be a more desirable form of relief from Penney's point of view than the obtaining of refunds, the mere fact that more desirable remedies are unavailable does not mean that existing remedies are inadequate. We conclude that there is, in fact, an adequate remedy available to Penney in the Customs Court. Cf. Eastern States Petroleum Corp. v. Rogers, supra, 280 F.2d at 614: "[T]he distinctions between the customs courts and the district courts do not rise to a level at which it may be said that final adjudication of constitutional questions in the customs courts offends the requirements of due process."