CIT Grants Stay of Customs Case Following Stipulated Judgment Meeting Between Parties

The Court of International Trade granted on Aug. 6 a consent motion to stay in a case brought by World Wide Packaging in which the company challenged CBP's appraisal of its imports of plastic tubes and caps from China based on the post-importation sale to its downstream U.S. customers. In its motion to stay, World Wide Packaging urged the court to grant its request following a meeting between counsel for the plaintiff and the Department of Justice. "Over the past week, counsel to Plaintiff and Defendant have discussed whether this appeal is susceptible to a stipulated judgment," the motion said. "The parties have agreed to continue these discussions in the weeks ahead. Plaintiff also intends to share a proposed stipulated judgment with Defendant in an effort to reach a negotiated solution. Defendant’s counsel will require time to vet the proposal with his client. Plaintiff’s counsel will also need time to review with their client any competing proposal from Defendant." Lars-Erik Hjelm and Devin Sikes of Akin Gump met with Peter Mancuso of DOJ in the meeting. In return, the court granted the stay until Feb. 7, 2022 (World Wide Packaging, LLC v. U.S., CIT #21-00189).