Standard Furniture Manufacturing Co. v. United States ( 2014 )

Slip Op. 14-162
UNITED STATES COURT OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE
ASHLEY FURNITURE INDUSTRIES,
INC.,
Plaintiff,
v. Before: Timothy C. Stanceu, Chief Judge
UNITED STATES and UNITED STATES Court No. 13-00201
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
COMMISSION,
Defendants.
OPINION
[Dismissing an action for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted in an action
seeking distributions under the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000]
Dated: December 31, 2014
Jill A. Cramer, Kristin H. Mowry, Jeffrey S. Grimson, Sarah Wyss, and Daniel R. Wilson,
Mowry & Grimson, PLLC, of Washington, DC, for plaintiff Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc.
Martin M. Tomlinson, Trial Attorney, Franklin E. White, Jr., Assistant Director, Joyce R.
Branda, Acting Assistant Attorney General, and Jeanne E. Davidson, Director, Commercial
Litigation Branch, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice, of Washington, DC, for defendant
United States.
Patrick V. Gallagher, Jr., Attorney-Advisor, Robin L. Turner, Acting Assistant General
Counsel for Litigation, Dominic L. Bianchi, General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel,
U.S. International Trade Commission, of Washington, DC, for defendant U.S. International
Trade Commission.
Stanceu, Chief Judge: This case arose from the actions of two agencies, the U.S.
International Trade Commission (the “Commission” or “ITC”) and U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (“Customs” or “CBP”), that denied plaintiff Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc.
(“Ashley”), a domestic producer of wooden bedroom furniture, certain monetary benefits under
Court No. 13-00201 Page 2
the now-repealed Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000 (the “CDSOA” or “Byrd
Amendment”), §§ 1001-03, 114 Stat. 1549, 19 U.S.C. § 1675c (2000) (repealed 2006, effective
2007). Compl. ¶¶ 5, 14 (May 14, 2013), ECF No. 4 (“Compl.”). The ITC determined that
Ashley did not qualify for “affected domestic producer” (“ADP”) status, which would have made
Ashley eligible for distributions of duties collected under an antidumping duty order on wooden
bedroom furniture from the People’s Republic of China (“PRC” or “China”), because Ashley, in
responding to an ITC questionnaire, had opposed the petition that resulted in the order.
Compl. ¶¶ 24, 35-40. Customs denied Ashley’s requests for CDSOA distributions for Fiscal
Years 2011 and 2012. Compl. ¶¶ 37, 40.
Plaintiff brought this case claiming that the actions by the ITC and Customs violated the
CDSOA and the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. § 706 (2006), and alleging
various facial and as-applied constitutional challenges to the CDSOA. Compl. ¶¶ 47-59.
Plaintiff asks that this court order the ITC to add Ashley to the list of ADPs for Fiscal
Years 2011 and 2012 and require Customs to disburse to Ashley a pro rata portion of CDSOA
distributions for Fiscal Years 2011 and 2012. Compl. ¶¶ 60.
Before the court is defendants’ motion to dismiss under USCIT Rule 12(b)(5) for failure
to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Defs.’ Mot. to Dismiss (Apr. 24, 2014), ECF
No. 23 (“Defs.’ Mot.”). The court determines that relief is not available on any of plaintiff’s
claims and will enter judgment dismissing this action.
I. BACKGROUND
Background on this action is provided in the court’s prior opinion and order, Ashley
Furniture Indus., Inc. v. United States, 38 CIT __, Slip Op. 14-67 (June 17, 2014) (“Ashley I”)
(denying motion to stay), and is supplemented herein.
Court No. 13-00201 Page 3
A. The CDSOA
The CDSOA amended the Tariff Act of 1930 (“Tariff Act”) by establishing an annual
distribution of assessed antidumping and countervailing duties to eligible ADPs as
reimbursement for qualifying expenses. 19 U.S.C. § 1675c(a)-(d) (2000). ADP status is limited
to petitioners and interested parties, id. § 1675c(b)(1), that indicated support for the petition that
gave rise to the pertinent antidumping or countervailing duty order “by letter or through
questionnaire response,” id. § 1675c(d)(1). Under the CDSOA, within sixty days after the
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce” or the
“Department”) issued an antidumping order, the ITC would forward to Customs a list of ADPs
potentially eligible for CDSOA distributions of duties collected under that order and Customs
would publish that list in the Federal Register. Id. § 1675c(d)(1). Customs was then responsible
for making the annual distributions to qualifying ADPs that file certifications with Customs. Id.
§ 1675c(d)(3), (e).
B. Administrative Actions at Issue
In 2003, the ITC commenced an investigation to determine whether imports of wooden
bedroom furniture from the People’s Republic of China (“China”) were causing or threatening to
cause material injury to the domestic industry. Initiation of Antidumping Duty Investigation:
Wooden Bedroom Furniture from the People’s Republic of China, 68 Fed. Reg. 70,228 (Int’l
Trade Comm’n Dec. 17, 2003). In response to an ITC questionnaire issued during this
investigation, Ashley stated that it opposed the petition that triggered the investigation. Compl.
¶ 24. In 2005, Commerce issued an antidumping duty order on imports of wooden bedroom
furniture from China. Notice of Amended Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
Court No. 13-00201 Page 4
and Antidumping Duty Order: Wooden Bedroom Furniture From the People’s Republic of
China, 70 Fed. Reg. 329 (Int’l Trade Admin. Jan. 4, 2005).
For Fiscal Years 2011 and 2012, Customs published individual lists of ADPs that the ITC
determined were potentially eligible for CDSOA distributions and did not include Ashley on
either list. Distribution of Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset to Affected Domestic
Producers, 76 Fed. Reg. 31,020 (Dep’t of Homeland Sec. May 27, 2011) (concerning Fiscal
Year 2011); Distribution of Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset to Affected Domestic
Producers, 77 Fed. Reg. 32,718 (Dep’t of Homeland Sec. June 1, 2012) (concerning Fiscal
Year 2012). On June 18, 2011, Ashley filed a certification with Customs requesting CDSOA
distributions for Fiscal Year 2011, which Customs subsequently denied. Compl. ¶ 36-37. On
July 19, 2012, Ashley filed another certification with Customs, this time requesting CDSOA
distributions for Fiscal Year 2012, which Customs also denied. Compl. ¶¶ 39-40.
C. Procedural History
Plaintiff commenced this action on May 14, 2013. Summons, ECF No. 1; Compl.
Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the action on April 24, 2014. Defs.’ Mot. 1. Plaintiff filed
a response to defendants’ motion to dismiss on June 2, 2014,1 Pl. Ashley Furniture Indus., Inc.’s
Resp. to Defs.’ Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 24, and defendants filed a reply in support of the
motion on August 22, 2014, Defs.’ Reply in Supp. of Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 37. On
June 17, 2014, the court denied a motion by plaintiff to stay this action pending final resolution
of a petition for a writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court in a case concerning the denial of
1
Plaintiff’s response to defendants’ motion to dismiss asserts only that the court should
deny defendants’ motion and reiterates its position that the court should stay this case pending
the U.S. Supreme Court’s consideration of a writ of certiorari, a request the court denied. Pl.
Ashley Furniture Indus., Inc.’s Resp. to Defs.’ Mot. to Dismiss (June 2, 2014), ECF No. 24.
Court No. 13-00201 Page 5
Ashley’s CDSOA distribution requests for Fiscal Years 2007 through 2010. Ashley I, 38 CIT
at __, Slip Op. 14-67 at 5. Defendants filed a status report on October 20, 2014, following the
U.S. Supreme Court’s denial of the petition for a writ of certiorari that was the subject of
plaintiff’s motion to stay. Defs. United States & U.S. Customs & Border Prot.’s Status Report,
ECF No. 39; see Ashley Furniture Indus., Inc., et al. v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 72 (2014)
(denying certiorari).
II. DISCUSSION
The court exercises jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to section 201 of the Customs
Courts Act of 1980, 28 U.S.C. § 1581(i) (2006), which grants this Court exclusive jurisdiction
over various civil actions not falling under the jurisdictional grants of subsections (a)-(h) of
section 201 but that arise out of a law of the United States, such as the CDSOA, that provides for
the administration of duties (including antidumping duties) on the importation of merchandise.
“[A] judge ruling on a defendant’s motion to dismiss a complaint ‘must accept as true all
of the factual allegations contained in the complaint.’” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S.
544, 570 (2007) (“Twombly”) (citations omitted). However, a complaint must be dismissed if it
does not “contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is
plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (“Iqbal”) (quoting Twombly,
550 U.S. at 570). “Determining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for relief [is] . . . a
context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and
common sense.” Id., 556 U.S. at 679.
Plaintiff’s complaint has five counts. Count 1 brings statutory challenges, Count 2 brings
both statutory and constitutional challenges, and Counts 3, 4, and 5 bring constitutional
challenges. Compl. ¶¶ 47-59.
Court No. 13-00201 Page 6
A. No Relief Can be Granted on Plaintiff’s Statutory Challenges
Plaintiff’s complaint alleges that the actions of the ITC and Customs violated the
CDSOA and the APA and that the conduct of the two agencies was “arbitrary, capricious, and an
abuse of discretion.” Compl. ¶¶ 47-51. Specifically, plaintiff alleges that the agencies
“inappropriately treated similarly situated domestic producers differently, without any rational
basis for doing so,” Compl. ¶ 51, and unlawfully “limited the definition of ‘affected domestic
producer’ to include only those domestic producers who checked the support box on the
Commission’s questionnaire, while excluding from the definition those domestic producers who
supported the petition through their conduct but did not express support for the petition,” Compl.
¶ 51. Relying on two decisions of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Court of
Appeals”), plaintiff asserts that such an interpretation conflicts with the purpose of the CDSOA,
which, according to plaintiff, is “to reward domestic producers who support the petition through
their conduct.” Id. (citing SKF USA, Inc. v. U.S. Customs & Border Prot., 556 F.3d 1337, 1382
(Fed. Cir. 2009) (“SKF”), cert. denied, 130 S. Ct. 3273 (2010); PS Chez Sidney, L.L.C. v. U.S.
Int’l Trade Comm’n, 684 F.3d 1374, 1382 (Fed. Cir. 2012) (“PS Chez Sidney”)).
The court concludes that no relief can be granted on plaintiff’s statutory claims. The
CDSOA provision relevant to these claims is the directive that the ITC, in providing its list of
ADPs to Customs, include “a list of persons that indicate support of the petition by letter or
through questionnaire response.” 19 U.S.C. § 1675c(d)(1) (emphasis added). Plaintiff admits
that “[in] its questionnaire responses, Ashley indicated that it opposed the petition.” Compl.
¶ 24. The court must dismiss plaintiff’s statutory claims that the actions by the two agencies
violated the CDSOA and APA because plaintiff has admitted that it opposed the petition in its
questionnaire response—a fact disqualifying Ashley from receiving CDSOA distributions under
Court No. 13-00201 Page 7
the plain meaning of the statute—and alleges no other facts from which the court could reach a
conclusion that the agencies’ actions must be set aside.
Plaintiff’s contention that the purpose of the CDSOA is “to reward domestic producers
who support the petition through their conduct,” Compl. ¶ 51, does not save plaintiff’s statutory
claims. In neither SKF nor PS Chez Sidney did the Court of Appeals construe the CDSOA such
that a domestic producer may express opposition to a petition in its ITC questionnaire responses
and still be eligible to receive CDSOA distributions. To the contrary, the Court of Appeals in
SKF reasoned that in enacting the petition support requirement, Congress had permissibly, and
rationally, concluded that those who did not support a petition through a letter or questionnaire
response should not be rewarded. SKF, 556 F.3d at 1357, 1359 (“At best the role of parties
opposing (or not supporting) the petition in responding to questionnaires is similar to the role of
opposing or neutral parties in litigation who must reluctantly respond to interrogatories or other
discovery. . . . It was thus rational for Congress to conclude that those who did not support the
petition should not be rewarded.”). The Court of Appeals’ decision in PS Chez Sidney is not
applicable to this action because it concerned a different factual pattern from the instant case.
The party in PS Chez Sidney checked a box in one questionnaire indicating its support for the
petition and indicated that it took no position in a subsequent questionnaire. PS Chez Sidney,
684 F.3d at 1377. The holding in PS Chez Sidney did not qualify the holding in SKF to the
benefit of parties that expressed opposition to a petition. Id., 684 F.3d at 1381.
Because the statute precludes ADP§ status to parties that did not support the petition
through letter or questionnaire response, plaintiff can receive no relief on its statutory claims and
the court, therefore, must dismiss these claims pursuant to USCIT Rule 12(b)(5).
Court No. 13-00201 Page 8
B. No Relief Can be Granted on Plaintiff’s Constitutional Challenges
Plaintiff’s complaint also brings several challenges on constitutional grounds. Counts 3
and 5 bring claims grounded in the First Amendment guarantees of free speech and the right to
petition the government for redress of grievances. Compl. ¶¶ 52-54, 58-59. Count 4 brings
claims grounded in the equal protection guarantee under the due process clause of the Fifth
Amendment. Compl. ¶¶ 55-57. Count 2 alleges that the agencies’ actions “violate[] Ashley’s
constitutional rights,” Compl. ¶ 51, but offers no additional constitutional grounds on which the
court may evaluate plaintiff’s claims.
Plaintiff claims, in Count 3, that “[d]efendants’ application of the CDSOA . . . conditions
receipt of a government benefit on a private speaker expressing a specific viewpoint—support
for an antidumping duty petition through checking a ‘support’ box—and, therefore, is viewpoint
discrimination in contravention of the First Amendment.” Compl. ¶ 54. Plaintiff claims, in
Count 5, that the CDSOA petition support requirement “violates the First Amendment to the
Constitution as applied to Ashley because it discriminates against Ashley based on expression of
[Ashley’s] views,” Compl. ¶ 59, towards the antidumping petition “rather than [Ashley’s] action
(its litigation support),” Compl. ¶ 59. Plaintiff also claims in Count 5 that “[d]efendants’
application of the CDSOA further violates the First Amendment’s petition clause by
unconstitutionally abridging Ashley’s right to petition the government for redress of grievances.”
Compl. ¶ 59; see U.S. Const. amend. I (“Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom
of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances.”).
In Count 4 of the complaint, plaintiff claims that the agencies violated constitutional
equal protection guarantees because the agencies’ actions “created a classification that implicates
Court No. 13-00201 Page 9
Ashley’s fundamental right of speech,” Compl. ¶ 56, and were “not narrowly tailored to a
compelling government objective,” Compl. ¶ 56. Plaintiff also claims that the agencies violated
Fifth Amendment equal protection guarantees because the agencies’ application of the CDSOA
“impermissibly discriminates between Ashley and other similarly-situated domestic producers
who expressed support for the relevant antidumping petition . . . denying a benefit to Ashley.”
Compl. ¶ 57.
The court concludes that plaintiff’s constitutional challenges are foreclosed by binding
precedent established by SKF and, therefore, must be dismissed. In SKF, the Court of Appeals
held broadly that the CDSOA is “valid under the First Amendment” because it “is within the
constitutional power of Congress to enact, furthers the government’s substantial interest in
enforcing the trade laws, and is not overly broad.” SKF, 556 F.3d at 1360. The Court of
Appeals also held that the CDSOA, as applied to the plaintiff SKF USA, Inc. (“SKF”), violated
neither First Amendment principles nor equal protection principles under the Fifth Amendment
when SKF had expressed opposition to the relevant antidumping duty petition in its ITC
questionnaire response. SKF, 556 F.3d at 1343 (“SKF also responded to the ITC’s questionnaire,
but stated that it opposed the antidumping petition.”). Like SKF, Ashley expressed opposition to
antidumping duty petition in an ITC questionnaire response. Compl. ¶ 24. Plaintiff fails to plead
any facts that would allow the court to distinguish the application of the CDSOA to Ashley in
this case from the application of the statute in SKF. In all material respects, Ashley’s expression
of opposition to an antidumping duty petition was equivalent to that made by SKF and properly
resulted in Ashley’s disqualification from receiving distributions under the CDSOA.
In summary, plaintiff has failed to allege facts sufficient to demonstrate that its
constitutional claims are not foreclosed by the binding precedent of SKF. As to these claims,
Court No. 13-00201 Page 10
therefore, the complaint does not “contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a
claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 663 (citation omitted). The court
must dismiss these claims pursuant to defendants’ motion under USCIT Rule 12(b)(5).
III. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, defendants’ motion to dismiss this case under USCIT
Rule 12(b)(5) for failure to state a claim must be granted. The court will enter judgment
dismissing this action.
/s/ Timothy C. Stanceu
Timothy C. Stanceu
Chief Judge
Dated: December 31, 2014
New York, NY