CARMAN, Judge:
This action has been consolidated from six cases brought by a group of eight domestic producers of processed crawfish tail meat (collectively, the "Pat Huval Plaintiffs"),
The case is now before the Court on dispositive motions. Defendants United States Customs and Border Protection ("CBP") and the United States International Trade Commission ("ITC") each move to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted pursuant to USCIT Rule 12(b)(5), and for judgment on the pleadings under USCIT Rule 12(c). (Def. U.S. Customs and Border Prot.'s Mot. to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim upon Which Relief Can Be Granted and for J. on the Pleadings ("CBP Mot."), May 6, 2011, ECF No. 219); (Def. U.S. Int'l Trade Comm'n's Mot. to Dismiss for Failure To State a Claim and For J. on the Pleadings ("ITC Mot."), May 2, 2011, ECF No. 215). Defendant Intervenors Timken U.S. Corp. and MPB Corp. (collectively, "Timken") move for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to USCIT Rule 12(c) with respect to the complaints filed by SKF and Koyo. (Timken's Mot. for J. on the Pleadings with Respect to SKF's and Koyo's Compl.'s ("Timken Mot."), May 2, 2011, ECF No. 217.) For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiffs' consolidated action will be dismissed under USCIT Rule 12(b)(5) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, and under USCIT Rule 12(b)(1) on timeliness and mootness grounds.
Certain background information is provided in our earlier opinion in this case, Pat Huval Restaurant & Oyster Bar, Inc. v. United States, 32 CIT 232, 547 F.Supp.2d 1352
The Pat Huval Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Koyo is a U.S. producer of tapered roller bearings and ball bearings. (See, e.g., Compl. 2 ¶ 1.) Koyo seeks through this litigation to obtain status as an affected domestic producer and receive CDSOA disbursements for Fiscal Years 2006 2009 from duties collected on 13 antidumping duty orders on tapered roller and ball bearings. (Compl. 2 ¶ 20; Compl. 5 ¶ 19; Compl. 6 ¶¶ 19-21.) Koyo states that it did not support any of the petitions that culminated in the issuance of those 13 orders. (See, e.g., Compl. 2 ¶¶ 16, 28 ("Koyo USA did not support the underlying antidumping duty investigations for the subject bearings orders"; see also Compl. 5 ¶¶ 15, 29; Compl. 6 ¶¶ 15, 30.)) The ITC did not include Koyo on a list that it sent to Customs of producers potentially eligible for ADP status "for any of the fiscal years . . . since the promulgation of the CDSOA." (Compl. 2 ¶ 17; see also Compl. 5 ¶ 16; Compl. 6 ¶ 16.)
Plaintiff SKF is a U.S. manufacturer of antifriction bearings, including ball bearings. (See, e.g., Compl. 3 ¶ 1.) SKF also seeks to obtain status as an ADP and receive CDSOA disbursements for Fiscal Years 2004 and 2006 from duties collected on various antidumping duty orders on antifriction bearings. (Compl. 3 Prayer for Relief; Compl. 4 Prayer for Relief.) SKF alleges that it was considered "part of the domestic industry for [antifriction bearings]" but does not allege that it supported the petitions that culminated in the issuance of the relevant antidumping duty orders. (See Compl. 3 ¶ 26; Compl. 4 ¶ 37.) Because of its failure to support the petitions, SKF "has been denied status as an `affected domestic producer' and, consequently, has been deemed ineligible to receive disbursements under the CDSOA." (Compl. 3 ¶ 38; Compl. 4 ¶ 52.)
In 2008, acting on motions to dismiss pursuant to USCIT Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(5), we limited the relief Plaintiffs could obtain for their facial constitutional challenges, and limited which agency actions the Pat Huval Plaintiffs would be permitted to challenge in their Administrative Procedure Act (APA) claim.
The Court exercises subject matter jurisdiction over this action pursuant to section
The CDSOA amended the Tariff Act of 1930 to provide for an annual distribution (a "continuing dumping and subsidy offset") of duties assessed pursuant to an antidumping duty or countervailing duty order to affected domestic producers as reimbursements for qualifying expenditures.
The Court of Appeals, in SKF USA, Inc. v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection ("SKF USA II"), upheld the CDSOA against constitutional challenges brought on First Amendment and equal protection grounds. SKF USA, Inc. v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 556 F.3d 1337, 1360 ("[T]he Byrd Amendment 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. We hold that the Byrd Amendment is valid under the First Amendment."); id. ("Because it serves a substantial government interest, the Byrd
All Plaintiffs Koyo, SKF, and the Pat Huval Plaintiffs challenge the constitutionality of Defendants' application of the CDSOA on three grounds. First, they challenge the "in support of the petition" requirement of the CDSOA ("petition support requirement"), as it was applied to each of them, on First Amendment grounds.
The Pat Huval Plaintiffs bring three claims distinguishable from those brought by SKF or Koyo. First, the Pat Huval Plaintiffs claim that the CDSOA conferred upon them a vested property interest, of which they have been unreasonably deprived without notice or hearing, in violation of the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment. (Compl. 1 ¶¶ 27-28.) Second, the Pat Huval Plaintiffs claim that the actions of the ITC and CBP to adjudicate a right bestowed in 2000 based on a proceeding that took place in 1996 were arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion in violation of the APA. (Id. ¶¶ 31-34.) Last, the Pat Huval Plaintiffs claim that the CDSOA is an unconstitutional Bill of Attainder in violation of the Fifth Amendment because it retroactively penalized certain domestic producers for free speech actions taken prior to enactment. (Id. ¶¶ 40-42.)
Koyo brings claims distinguishable from those brought by the other Plaintiffs in this consolidated action. First, Koyo claims that the CDSOA is facially violative of the First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and belief and the ability of the citizenry to petition the government
Koyo has also filed a motion for leave to amend its complaint to assert a claim that Defendant Intervenors have been unjustly enriched by virtue of receiving CDSOA distributions belonging, in part, to Koyo. (Mot. for Leave to Amend Compl. and Mem. in Support, April 11, 2008, ECF No. 146.)
SKF brings one unique claim in this consolidated action. In the wake of SKF USA Inc. v. United States, 31 CIT 1163, 502 F.Supp.2d 1325 (2007), the ITC informed SKF that "a decision by this Court as to SKF USA's status as an `affected domestic producer' for one fiscal year's disbursements will not be applied to any year but that one fiscal year." (Compl. 4 ¶¶ 69-70.) SKF challenges this agency determination, ostensibly, though not explicitly, via the Administrative Procedure Act. SKF claims that in taking this position, the ITC has injured SKF by forcing it to "file an action each year in order to obtain the relief granted by the Court resulting from the Court's decision that the CDSOA, as applied to SKF[,] is unconstitutional." (Id. ¶ 71.) SKF claims that "[o]nce determined to be unconstitutional[] as to SKF USA in one case, the CDSOA is equally unconstitutional in all cases affecting SKF USA" and that the ITC's "refusal thus violates the Constitutional rights granted to SKF USA through the First Amendment, the equal protection guarantees of the U.S. Constitution and the due process guarantees of the U.S. Constitution." (Id. ¶¶ 71-72.)
Timken argues that three sets of claims in this consolidated action are barred by the two year statute of limitations in 28 U.S.C. § 2636(i) and should be dismissed on jurisdictional grounds. First, Timken argues that the action SKF commenced on September 29, 2006 (Compl. 3; prior to consolidation, Court No. 06-00328) to obtain a CDSOA distribution for Fiscal Year 2004 ("SKF's 2004 Challenge") is untimely. (Timken Mot. 25-29.) Second, Timken argues that the action Koyo commenced on September 30, 2008 (Compl. 5; prior to consolidation, Court No. 08-00340), is untimely to the extent Koyo seeks to obtain a CDSOA distribution for Fiscal Year 2006 ("Koyo's 2006 Challenge"). (Id. at 29-30.) Last, Timken argues that all of Koyo's claims asserting facial challenges to the constitutionality of the CDSOA are barred by the two year statute of limitations. (Id.
In SKF USA II, the Court of Appeals applied the principle that a cause of action accrues when all events necessary to fix the alleged liability of the defendant have occurred. SKF USA II, 556 F.3d at 1348 49 & 1348 n. 15 (citations omitted). The Court of Appeals concluded in SKF USA II that "the earliest SKF's claim could have accrued was when Customs published its notice of intent to distribute duties under the Byrd Amendment for fiscal year 2005 and invited potentially eligible producers to file certifications requesting a share of the distributions." Id. at 1349.
In the present case, the claims challenging the constitutionality of the CDSOA brought in SKF's 2004 Challenge and Koyo's 2006 Challenge are time barred because they were not brought within two years of the dates on which those claims accrued. See 28 U.S.C. § 2636(i). The 2004 notice of intent to distribute was published on June 2, 2004. Distribution of Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offsets to Affected Domestic Producers, 69 Fed.Reg. 31,162 (June 2, 2004). SKF did not file its lawsuit challenging this distribution until more than two years later, on September 29, 2006. (Compl. 3.) The 2006 notice of intent to distribute was published on June 1, 2006. Distribution of Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset to Affected Domestic Producers, 71 Fed.Reg. 31,336 (June 1, 2006). Koyo did not file its lawsuit challenging this distribution until more than two years later, on September 30, 2008. (Compl. 5.) The petition support requirement was applied to each plaintiff by the respective ITC decision to exclude it from the list of potential ADPs, not by any subsequent action by CBP, which does not have discretion to add potential ADPs to the Commission's list based on CBP's own determination of petition support. See 19 U.S.C. § 1675c(d)(2) (providing that the notice of intention to distribute is to include "the list of affected domestic producers potentially eligible for the distribution based on the list obtained from the Commission. . . ."). The publication of the notices of intent to distribute placed each plaintiff on notice that Customs would make a distribution for the relevant fiscal year and that the plaintiff would not be participating in that distribution. Each plaintiff could have challenged the ITC decision to exclude it from the list of potential ADPs for the relevant fiscal year as soon as that list was made public in CBP's notice. We conclude, therefore, that SKF's 2004 Challenge and Koyo's 2006 Challenge first accrued on the respective dates of publication of the two notices.
Further, we conclude that the statute of limitations in 28 U.S.C. § 2636(i) is jurisdictional. See SKF USA II, 556 F.3d at 1348 (assuming without deciding that the statute is jurisdictional under the test set forth in John R. Sand & Gravel Co. v. United States, 552 U.S. 130, 128 S.Ct. 750, 169 L.Ed.2d 591 (2008)). Accordingly, the claims comprising SKF's 2004 Challenge and Koyo's 2006 Challenge are not properly before us, and we dismiss these claims for lack of jurisdiction according to USCIT Rule 12(b)(1).
Finally, we reject Defendant Intervenors' argument that Koyo's remaining facial challenges are barred by the two year statute of limitations because these challenges were not brought within two years of enactment. In dicta in SKF USA II, the Court of Appeals opined that "SKF could have filed a facial challenge to the Byrd Amendment immediately after its enactment,"
The survival of Koyo's facial claims, however, is short lived. Koyo's claims facially challenging the constitutionality of the CDSOA's petition support requirement under the First Amendment (See, e.g., Compl. 2 ¶¶ 57-60) and the equal protection doctrine of the Fifth Amendment (Id. ¶¶ 65-68) are precluded by the holding in SKF USA II. In SKF USA II, the Court of Appeals held that the CDSOA did not violate constitutional First Amendment or equal protection principles as applied to SKF in that case. 556 F.3d at 1360. That ruling forecloses any possibility that the statute is facially unconstitutional on the First Amendment and equal protection grounds asserted by SKF in SKF USA II. Koyo's claims to the same effect therefore must be dismissed pursuant to USCIT Rule 12(b)(5) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
Timken argues that SKF's as applied First Amendment and equal protection challenges to the CDSOA are barred either by res judicata (claim preclusion) or collateral estoppel (issue preclusion). (Timken Mot. 4 16.) "Under res judicata,
SKF litigated its First Amendment as applied and equal protection challenges before the Court of Appeals in SKF USA II and received a final judgment on the merits of those claims in that case. (SKF did not litigate and receive a final judgment on the merits of its due process retroactivity claim, which we address elsewhere in this opinion.) The Court holds that SKF is barred from relitigating the First Amendment as applied and equal protection issues in the present case, notwithstanding that SKF is pursuing a different cause of action in seeking CDSOA distributions for a different fiscal year than that involved in SKF USA II.
SKF argues in response that its as applied First Amendment and equal protection claims should not be barred by collateral estoppel. (Pl. SKF USA Inc.'s Opp. to Def.'s and Def. Ints.' Mots. To Dismiss and for J. on the Pleadings 20-21 ("SKF's Opp."), June 24, 2011, ECF No. 223.) SKF argues that collateral estoppel should not apply in light of the Supreme Court's decision in Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc., ___ U.S. ___, 131 S.Ct. 2653, 180 L.Ed.2d 544 (2011), which it believes satisfies an "exception to the preclusion doctrines for new claims brought after `momentus changes in important, fundamental constitutional rights.'" (SKF's Opp. 20-21) (quoting Roche Palo Alto v. Apotex, Inc., 531 F.3d 1372, 1380-81 (Fed.Cir.2008) (internal quotation omitted)). Sorrell is not an appropriate basis for invoking the exception to issue preclusion, as the Supreme Court's holding in the case does not undermine the validity of SKF USA II or the Central Hudson test on which the Court of Appeals relied in analyzing the petition support requirement. As we determined recently in ruling on another as applied First Amendment challenge to the CDSOA, Sorrell did not implicitly overturn SKF USA II or change the requisite level of scrutiny appropriate for the CDSOA. See Furniture Brands, 35 CIT at ___, 807 F.Supp.2d at 1313-15. Sorrell and SKF analyze dissimilar statutes, which vary considerably in how they affect expression as well as in purpose. Id. As the Court of Appeals concluded in SKF USA II, the CDSOA does not have as a stated purpose, or even an implied purpose, the intentional suppression of expression, SKF USA II, 556 F.3d at 1351-52, whereas the Vermont statute the Supreme Court struck down in Sorrell was intended to suppress expression, specifically the use in marketing of identifying information related to prescription drugs, see Sorrell, 131 S.Ct. at 2660. Because Sorrell does not require us to review the CDSOA according to a First Amendment analysis differing from that applied by the Court of Appeals in SKF USA II, it does not represent a "momentus change[] in important, fundamental constitutional rights" warranting an exception to the issue preclusion doctrine. See Roche Palo Alto, 531 F.3d at 1380-81.
Koyo and the Pat Huval Plaintiffs fail to plead facts allowing the Court to conclude
Koyo unsuccessfully attempts to distinguish its as applied First Amendment and equal protection claims from those resolved in SKF USA II. (Pl. Koyo Corp. of U.S.A.'s Opp. to Defs.' and Def. Intervenors' Mots. to Dismiss and for J. on the Pleadings ("Koyo Opp.") 10 11, June 24, 2011, ECF No. 224.) While Koyo seeks distributions for different fiscal years and from different antidumping duty orders than SKF sought in SKF USA II, these factual distinctions have no bearing on the applicability of the holding of that case. Neither SKF nor Koyo expressed support for a petition, and thus neither qualified to become an ADP. Consequently, Koyo's and the Pat Huval Plaintiffs' as applied First Amendment and equal protection challenges are also foreclosed by the holding in SKF USA II and must be dismissed pursuant to USCIT Rule 12(b)(5) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
All Plaintiffs claim that the CDSOA is impermissibly retroactive, in violation of the due process guarantee of the Fifth Amendment, because it bases their eligibility for disbursements on past conduct, i.e., support for a petition. In New Hampshire Ball Bearing v. United States, 36 CIT ___, ___-___, 815 F.Supp.2d 1301, 1306-10 (2012), we considered a claim essentially identical to Plaintiffs' retroactivity claims. We determined then that "the retroactive reach of the petition support requirement in the CDSOA is justified by a rational legislative purpose and therefore is not vulnerable to attack on constitutional due process grounds." Id. at 1309. We reasoned that "[i]t was not arbitrary or irrational for Congress to conclude that the legislative purpose of rewarding domestic producers who supported antidumping petitions . . . would be `more fully effectuated' if the petition support requirement were applied both prospectively and retroactively." Id. at 1309 (quoting Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. v. R.A. Gray & Co., 467 U.S. 717, 730-31, 104 S.Ct. 2709, 81 L.Ed.2d 601 (1984)). We conclude, therefore, that Congress did not violate Plaintiffs' Fifth Amendment due process rights in basing potential eligibility for CDSOA disbursements on a decision on whether to support the petition that Plaintiffs made prior to the enactment of the CDSOA. Accordingly, we will dismiss these claims in Plaintiffs' Complaints for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
The Pat Huval Plaintiffs claim that they were deprived of a vested property
The Pat Huval Plaintiffs alone assert a claim that the CDSOA constitutes a Bill of Attainder in violation of their Fifth Amendment rights, arguing that the statute retroactively penalizes certain domestic producers for past actions. (Compl. 1 ¶¶ 40-42.) The Supreme Court has stated that
United States v. Lovett, 328 U.S. 303, 315 316, 66 S.Ct. 1073, 90 L.Ed. 1252 (1946) (internal quotation marks omitted) (emphasis added). On its face, the CDSOA does not contain any provision that "inflicts punishment" on those who did not support a petition. Moreover, as the Court of Appeals concluded in SKF USA II, the purpose of the CDSOA is not to punish a particular class of persons; instead, the Court of Appeals concluded that a purpose of the CDSOA was to reward with monetary benefits those entities who supported government enforcement of the antidumping law by bringing or supporting an antidumping petition. SKF USA II, 556 F.3d at 1351-52. The Court of Appeals concluded that this goal is rationally related to a substantial government interest, namely, enforcement of the trade laws, and reasoned that it is not unfair to deny benefits to non supporters of antidumping petitions. Id. at 1359-60. Because the CDSOA is not a bill of attainder, the Pat Huval Plaintiffs' claim to that effect adds nothing beyond their claim that the CDSOA is impermissibly retroactive in violation of the due process guarantee of the Fifth Amendment, a claim we rejected supra. Therefore, we will dismiss the Bill of Attainder claim as one on which no relief can be granted.
The Pat Huval Plaintiffs claim that the actions of the ITC, which refused to include the Pat Huval Plaintiffs on the list of affected domestic producers, and of CBP, which refused to pay CDSOA distributions
When the ITC based its determination about the Pat Huval Plaintiffs' eligibility to become ADPs on the Pat Huval Plaintiffs' failure to express support for the relevant antidumping petition in 1996, it did not act arbitrarily or capriciously. To the contrary, in the case of orders in place at the time the CDSOA was enacted, the CDSOA required the ITC to base its eligibility determination retroactively on the basis of petition support. 19 U.S.C. § 1675c(b)(1)(A) (an ADP must have been "a petitioner or
The Court construes the claim brought by SKF challenging the ITC's "position that a decision by this Court as to SKF USA's status as an `affected domestic producer' for one fiscal year's disbursements will not be applied to any year but that one fiscal year," as a challenge to agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act. (Compl. 4 ¶ 70; see 5 U.S.C. §§ 702, 704 (authorizing persons aggrieved by certain types of final agency action to seek judicial review thereof).) The Constitution permits a federal court to exercise jurisdiction only over a live case or controversy. U.S. Const. art. III, § 2. In order to satisfy the case or controversy requirement, "a litigant must have suffered some actual injury that can be redressed by a favorable judicial decision." Iron Arrow Honor Society v. Heckler, 464 U.S. 67, 70, 104 S.Ct. 373, 78 L.Ed.2d 58 (1983). If "the issue[] presented [is] no longer `live' or the parties lack a legally cognizable interest in the outcome," the case is moot. PPG Industries, Inc. v. United States, 11 CIT 303, 306, 660 F.Supp. 965, 968 (1987) (quoting Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486, 496, 89 S.Ct. 1944, 23 L.Ed.2d 491 (1969)). SKF brought this claim subsequent to having obtained a successful judgment in SKF USA I, but prior to the reversal of that decision in SKF USA II. Because SKF no longer has a decision from this, or any, court that it is entitled to status as an affected domestic producer, it cannot claim injury by virtue of the ITC's "position,"
Plaintiffs SKF and Koyo move for a "preliminary injunction" under which Defendants would be enjoined from disbursing CDSOA funds for fiscal years 2006 through 2010 from the antidumping duty orders covering ball bearings and tapered roller bearings during the pendency of this litigation, including all appeals, petitions for further judicial review, and remands. (Pls.' Joint Mot. for a Prelim. Inj. (Jan. 6, 2012), ECF No. 235.) A preliminary injunction normally dissolves upon the entry of judgment. See Univ. of Texas v. Camenisch, 451 U.S. 390, 395, 101 S.Ct. 1830, 68 L.Ed.2d 175 (1981) (stating that the purpose of a preliminary injunction is to preserve the status quo until the merits of the action are ultimately determined); 11A Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure, § 2947 (2d ed. 2010) (a principal purpose of preliminary injunctive relief is "to preserve the court's power to render a meaningful decision after a trial on the merits."). Because we are bringing the entire case to a conclusion at this time, the question of a preliminary injunction to prevent irreparable harm during the pendency of the case before us is now moot.
The injunction sought would extend past the entry of judgment in this case; consequently, it is, in this respect, akin to "permanent" equitable relief. Our conclusion as to the disposition of the injunction motion, however, is no different. We have concluded for the reasons discussed above that no remedy, either at law or in equity, is available on the claims properly before us, i.e., those not dismissed under USCIT Rule 12(b)(1) for lack of jurisdiction. Moreover, the injunction sought would prejudice Defendant Intervenors, who would experience further delay in obtaining withheld distributions, and it would not serve the public interest, which is furthered by a lawful and orderly administration of the CDSOA. Even when we presume, for the purpose of deciding the motion, that SKF and Koyo would be irreparably harmed by the pending distribution of withheld funds, we still conclude that SKF and Koyo do not qualify for a permanent injunction. See eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C., 547 U.S. 388, 391, 126 S.Ct. 1837, 164 L.Ed.2d 641 (2006) (requiring for a permanent injunction that a plaintiff have suffered an irreparable injury, that the remedies available at law be inadequate to compensate for that injury, that considering the balance of hardships between the parties, a remedy in equity be warranted, and that the public interest would not be disserved by a permanent injunction). Therefore, we will deny SKF's and Koyo's motion for an injunction.
Koyo has moved to amend the complaint to add a claim against Defendant Intervenors for unjust enrichment. (Proposed Am. Compl. ¶ 81, ECF No. 145.) We must deny this motion. Amending the complaint would be futile because the proposed new claim would be outside the Court's subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1581(i), which is limited to civil actions against "the United States, its agencies, or its officers." The proposed claim, which is a direct claim by Koyo
For the foregoing reasons, Koyo's motion for leave to amend its Complaint will be denied; Koyo and SKF's joint motion for injunctive relief will be denied; Koyo's claims with respect to the fiscal year 2006 CDSOA distribution and SKF's claims with respect to the fiscal year 2004 CDSOA distribution are barred by the statute of limitations in 28 U.S.C. § 2636(i) and will be dismissed pursuant to USCIT Rule 12(b)(1); SKF's APA claim will be dismissed as moot pursuant to USCIT Rule 12(b)(1); and all other claims will be dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted pursuant to USCIT Rule 12(b)(5). We conclude, further, that no valid purpose would be served by allowing any plaintiff a further opportunity to seek leave to amend a complaint and, accordingly, that there is no reason to prolong this action. Consequently, this action will be dismissed. Judgment will be entered accordingly.