Friday, November 18, 2016

Case of the Day: Jiangsu Tiangong Tools Co. v. United States, 2016 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 107 (Nov. 27, 2016)

Summary:

U.S. Department of Commerce had an ongoing anti-dumping investigation against Jiangsu Tiangong Tools, a Chinese steel company. DoC requested certain questionnaires from Jiangsu. Jiangsu submitted the questionnaire two days past the deadline, and DoC refused to accept the questionnaire. Jiangsu then sued DoC in the U.S. Court of International Trade.

The court dismissed for a lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The court found that any potential harm that the plaintiff would have as a result of DoC's administrative action has not yet materialized, as DoC did not make a final determination on the matter--regardless of the fact that DoC's refusal to accept Jiangsu's late submission will most likely result in a consequence unfavorable to Jiangsu.

Takeaway:

The biggest nightmare for any lawyers--missing the deadline resulting in disastrous consequences. Plaintiff's action here has whiffs of a "make-up" action, where the lawyers who messed up tried to make up for their mistake by filing a legal action with little chance of success.

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