Dropped Lawsuit Doesn't Preserve Right to Challenge Denied CBP Protest, Says CIT
An importer’s aborted first attempt at filing a court challenge didn’t stop the clock on the statute of limitations, ruled the Court of International Trade on Dec. 13 as it dismissed part of the importer’s case (here). American Power Pull Corp., an importer of hand trucks, challenged the denial of two protests by CBP. The company had filed its complaint well past the 180-day deadline for challenging one of the protests, and an earlier complaint on the same protest didn’t extend the deadline for filing suit, said CIT.
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American Power Pull had filed the protest seeking to avoid a 145 percent antidumping duty, plus interest and penalties dating back to the time of entry five years prior. CBP denied the protest on June 14, 2013, and American Power Pull filed suit at CIT on Dec. 10 of that year. The 180-day period for challenging the denied protest expired on Dec. 11. However, the company had failed to pay the duty before filing suit, as required by law, and voluntarily dropped the case before paying the duties and refiling in March.
The importer argued that its first attempt at filing suit satisfied the requirement that a court challenge be filed 180 days after the protest denial. But CIT, citing case law dating back to the 19th century, found that the voluntary dismissal of its first case effectively wiped the slate clean, and did not extend the deadline or preserve American Power Pull’s right to file suit. With the 180-day deadline having expired over three months prior to filing suit, CIT dismissed the protest challenge. However, it allowed the lawsuit to proceed for a second denied protest that was challenged within the 180-day period.
(American Power Pull Corp. v. U.S., Slip Op. 15-01, CIT # 14-00088, dated 01/13/15, Judge Barnett)
(Attorneys: Andrew Ayers of Bahrete & Associates for plaintiff American Power Pull Corp.; Justin Miller for defendant U.S. government)