CIT Agrees to Speed Up Importer's Case on Excluded Battery Entries
The Court of International Trade on Dec. 23 agreed to expedite importer Camel Energy's case against CBP's detention of its battery entries after the parties filed a joint proposed briefing schedule that accelerates the court's consideration of the case (Camel Energy v. United States, CIT # 25-00420).
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Judge Claire Kelly issued the order, making it the second time in as many months the judge has done so after Kelly agreed to speed up a separate case from Camel Energy on the detention of different battery entries (see 2511050003). The present lawsuit concerns CBP's detention of the importer's lead-acid batteries, which were initially detained for an alleged violation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
In the present case, Kelly noted that the parties agreed to bifurcate the litigation into two phases: one on the "underlying statutory question regarding whether good cause existed for CBP’s deemed exclusion of the subject merchandise," and the other on the "remaining issues on the merits of the admissibility of the subject merchandise." The judge said after the court issues its ruling on the first phase, the case will be stayed for seven days to let the parties file a joint status report.
Should there be no trial, full briefing is set to conclude on phase one in the case by May 20, 2026. However, parties can request a trial by May 11, 2026.