Settlement Reached in Lawsuit Over Use of de Minimis Exemption

The Department of Justice and Selective Marketplace agreed to a settlement over allegations of illegal use of de minims exemptions, the DOJ said in a May 13 news release. The DOJ agreed to join the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Maine in March (see 1904190006) as part of a qui tam whistleblower suit. The company, which is based in England, will pay a total of $610,000 to resolve the suit, the DOJ said.

Selective was alleged to have "evaded customs duties that would have been paid by U.S. customers by breaking up single shipments worth more than those amounts into multiple shipments of lesser value in order to avoid the applicable duties," the DOJ said. The DOJ previously argued that the illegal avoidance of the duties constitutes a reverse false claim. Selective sells premium womenswear under the Wrap London and Poetry brands.

The settlement is neither "an admission of liability by Selective nor a concession by the United States" that the "claims are not well founded," the agreement said. The relators, who filed the original lawsuit that the DOJ joined, will get a share of the settlement proceeds, the DOJ said. The company was alleged to have abused the de minimis exemption back when the value threshold was at $200.

Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the settlement notice.