United States Federal Circuit

In a customs case in which plaintiff sought a reduction of the appraised value of imported automobiles as an allowance for repairs made to correct manufacturing and design defects, judgment for defendant is affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part where: 1) there was no jurisdiction over plaintiff's claims with respect to repairs made after the protest date; 2) with respect to repairs not made in response to government recalls, plaintiff's evidence failed to establish that the repairs related to defects existing at the time of importation; 3) with respect to repairs made to comply with government recall notices, plaintiff established that it had contracted for merchandise free from design defects; 4) with respect to repairs made to comply with federal safety recall notices, plaintiff established that the repairs were made to correct defects existing at the time of importation; 5) with respect to repairs made to comply with state-mandated recalls, remand was necessary to determine whether those recalls were concerned with latent defects present at the time of importation; and 6) plaintiff waived its claim for relief on an alternative theory of exclusion for maintenance expenses by not raising it below.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/22/2008
• Published 08/22/2008

Judges

• DYK, Circuit Judge., Before RADER, Circuit Judge, ARCHER, Senior Circuit Judge, and DYK, Circuit Judge.

Court

• United States Federal Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Thomas J. Kovarcik, of New York, New York, argued for plaintiff-appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Barbara S. Williams, Attorney in Charge, International Trade Field Office, Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, of New York, New York, argued for defendant-appellee.   With her on the brief were Jeffrey S. Bucholtz, Acting Assistant Attorney General, and Jeanne E. Davidson, Director, of Washington, DC. Of counsel on the was Yelena Slepak, Office of Assistant Chief Counsel, International Trade Litigation, United States Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, of New York, New York.