Hubbell Inc. filed an appeal of the International Trade Commission’s ruling in the section 337 patent investigation of certain ground fault circuit interrupters and products containing same, according to documents on the website of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In May, the ITC issued a general exclusion order and cease and desist orders blocking imports of the merchandise at issue. Petitions for review of the ITC determination have also been filed by Leviton Manufacturing Co. (CAFC Docket No. 2012-1483) and by Fujian Hongan Electric Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang Trimone Science & Technology Electric Co., Ltd.(CAFC Docket No. 2012-1493).
Indian producer Essar Steel appealed the Court of International Trade’s June ruling in U.S. Steel Corporation v. U.S. (Slip Op. 12-91), according to a Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit docketing notice. Essar’s antidumping rate grew from 5.22% to 9.01% as a result of CIT’s ruling, which arose from U.S. Steel and Nucor’s challenge of the final results of the 2005-06 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products (A-533-820). At issue in the ruling were adjustments to cost of production for Essar’s duty drawback and corrections of ministerial errors made by the International Trade Administration. The appealed decision sustained the ITA’s second remand redetermination.
The Court of International Trade affirmed the International Trade Administration’s decision to rescind a new shipper review of the antidumping order on wooden bedroom furniture from China (A-570-890) with respect to Chinese company Marvin Furniture (Shanghai) Co. In its request for the new shipper review, Marvin had told the ITA that its first entries of subject merchandise to the U.S. occurred in June 2011. But after the ITA initiated the review, CBP found earlier entries of subject merchandise from Marvin. Given this new information, the ITA rescinded the new shipper review because Marvin’s review request did not meet the statutory requirements.
A civil engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Christopher Castillo, 33, of Monte Alto, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of bribery in a case involving a CBP building in southern Texas, the Justice Department said. Castillo, who supervised projects in the Southern District of Texas, admitted he received a new concrete driveway from the owner of the company working on the building. The owner said he was afraid to refuse because Castillo could prevent him from getting government contracts. The project had an estimated value of $80,000. Castillo will face a maximum of 15 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for Nov. 28, 2012.
In section 337 patent cases, the party attempting to establish that a patent is invalid because of prior invention bears the burden of proving the prior invention indeed came first, said the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in reversing part of an International Trade Commission determination. According to CAFC, when the dates of conception or notification of the invention overlap, the tie goes to the complainant in validity determinations in section 337 cases.
The Fresh Garlic Producers Association (FGPA) filed an appeal of the Court of International Trade’s June 11 ruling in Jinxiang Hejia Co. v. United States, according to an Aug. 22 Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit docketing notice. In the appealed ruling, CIT affirmed the zero AD rate assigned to Chinese plaintiff Jinxiang Heija Co. in the second remand redetermination of a new shipper review of the antidumping duty order on fresh garlic from China (A-570-831). The International Trade Administration originally assigned Jinxiang Hejia an AD rate of 15.37%. At issue in the decision was the ITA’s use of price data when calculating surrogate values.
The Court of Appeals docketed Since Hardware (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd.’s appeal of the Court of International Trade’s rulings in Home Products International, Inc. v. United States. Since Hardware, defendant-intervenor in the case, filed the appeal on Aug. 10 concerning three CIT rulings in January, May, and June. At issue were surrogate values calculated for Since Hardware’s imports in the International Trade Administration’s 2007-08 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on floor-standing, metal-top ironing tables and certain parts thereof (A-570-888). CIT remanded the final results in January, and sustained the resulting remand determination in June.
The International Longshore & Warehouse Union filed suit in U.S. District Court, Portland, Ore., against the Port of Portland and Bill Wyatt, its executive director, saying they unlawfully gave nearly $5 million in public funds to ICTSI Oregon, Inc., a subsidiary of the private Philippines-based company International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), and tens of thousands more to ocean carriers. The suit seeks an injunction against the expenditures.
An Italian shipping company and one of its ship chief engineers were sentenced in U.S. District Court, Mobile, Ala., for deliberately falsifying records to conceal discharges of oily wastewater from the ship directly into the sea, the Justice Department said. Giusseppe Bottiglieri Shipping Company was sentenced by Judge Ginny Granade to pay a $1 million criminal fine, serve four years of probation, and make a $300,000 community service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The company must also fund and implement a comprehensive environmental compliance plan during the term of probation. Chief Engineer Vito La Forgia was sentenced by Judge Granade to one month in jail. The company pleaded guilty July 11 to failing to properly maintain an oil record book as required by federal and international law. Vito La Forgia, the ship's chief engineer, pleaded guilty July 12 to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement reported another seizure of drugs from a vessel arriving at the Port of Norfolk. The seizure of two kilograms each of cocaine and heroin, concealed in the ceiling of a bathroom on the vessel, comes on the heels of the report last week that a joint task force had seized about 35 kilograms of cocaine at the Port of Norfolk in separate drug smuggling ventures. On July 27, the task force seized 32 kilograms of cocaine off of a vessel arriving into the Port of Norfolk, ICE said. On Aug. 4, the task force seized three kilograms of cocaine from a container vessel that was due into Hampton Roads. No arrests have been made and no crew members are suspected of being involved, ICE said.