CIT Judge Timothy M. Reif's opinion is bookended with scenes from the Reese Witherspoon film "Sweet Home Alabama" and the Sandra Bullock film "The Proposal" that each involve an engagement proposal — references that were likely chosen due to the jewelry box design at the center of the case. But like his Friday ruling that utilized "The Godfather" and Showtime's "Homeland," the quotes and scenes appear without any direct explanation or tie-in to the legal opinion at hand.
The dispute at the center of the judge's ruling is CPB's classification of certain jewelry boxes imported by The Kalencom Corp. The company argued the boxes have an outer layer "wholly or mainly covered with paper," and should be classified under the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule to carry a 3.4% ad valorum duty.
But like Sam Wainwright's advice to George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life," later echoed by Mr. McGuire's recommendation to Benjamin Braddock in "The Graduate," the ruling ultimately came down to one word: "plastics."
CBP had classified the boxes as containing an "outer surface of sheeting of plastics," and not paper, which carries a 17.6% ad valorem duty.
Judge Reif granted summary judgment for the government and said that "the court determines that the outer surface, in fact, consists of plastics."
Judge Reif, 61, was confirmed to the bench by the Senate in August after a career focused on trade litigation, including as senior adviser to the United States Trade Representative from 2017 to 2019, and general counsel for the Office of the United States Trade Representative from 2009 to 2017.
The dive into film and fiction references is not new for the judge during his short time on the bench. A review of his recent opinions by Law360 found references to "Mary Poppins," Niccolò Machiavelli's "The Prince" and Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass."
In challenging the classification of the jewelry boxes, Kalencom argued the outer layer is not plastic, and if it is, does not meet the definition of a "sheet" of plastic.
Among other things, the judge looked to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule definition of "plastic" and found that means materials "which are or have been capable, either at the moment of polymerization or at some subsequent stage, of being formed under external influence (usually heat and pressure, if necessary with a solvent or plasticizer) by molding, casting, extruding, rolling or other process into shapes which are retained on the removal of the external influence."
Because the definition includes acrylic polymers, and the outer layer of the jewelry boxes includes acrylic polymers, the judge said the material qualifies as plastic, and the presence of additives does "not alter this plastic character."
In arguing the outer layer did not constitute a "sheet" of plastic, Kalencom cited the McGraw Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, which said a "sheeting" must be greater than 0.25 mm. The jewelry boxes' purported plastic layers are thinner than 0.25 mm, according to Kalencom.
But the judge pointed to the CIT ruling in Sarne Handbags Corp
., which did not require a thickness level for "sheeting," only for it to be "unusually thin or of a continuous thin covering or coating."Judge Reif opened the opinion with a reenactment of Witherspoon's character in 2002's "Sweet Home Alabama" receiving a surprise proposal at Tiffany's Fifth Avenue in New York City.
After asking her beau Andrew — played by Patrick Dempsey, the judge makes sure of noting — if he really wants to ask her, Andrew says, "You know I never do anything rash. And I usually never ask a question I don't already know the answer to ... so ... at the risk of being rejected twice, I'm gonna ask you again. Will you marry me?"
The judge then jumps directly into his written opinion on the case, never again directly referencing the scene, although he does offer a footnote on the film, including that it was produced by Touchstone Pictures.
The opinion closes with a scene from 2009's "The Proposal," where a character played by Sandra Bullock "proposes" to her assistant, who the judge notes is played by Ryan Reynolds.
Judge Reif does give some indication why he chose this scene by noting that it takes place "directly in front of 26 Federal Plaza, at the corner of Broadway and Thomas Street, just steps from the CIT courthouse," although, curiously, no actual jewelry appears in the scene.
At the end of the scene, according to the judge, after Reynolds forces Bullock to give him a "disingenuous and sarcastic" proposal while on one knee in order to skirt immigration laws, Bullock extends her hand for him to help her up as Reynolds turns and walks away.
"The court does not walk away from its obligation to decide this case," Judge Reif wrote next. "For the foregoing reasons, summary judgment is granted in favor of defendant. Customs' classification is upheld and judgment will be entered accordingly."
Counsel for the parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Kalencom is represented by Peter J. Fitch of Fitch King LLC.
The government is represented by Monica P. Triana of the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Division and Alexandra Khrebtukova of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The case is Kalencom Corp. v. United States, case number 15-00011, in the U.S. Court of International Trade.
--Editing by Bruce Goldman.
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