Hedden v. Richard

delivered the opinion of the court.

At various times in the year 1886 the defendants in error imported into the port of New York certain articles of furniture, for the account of Jacob and Josef Kohn, of Yienna, Austria, the manufacturers and consignors thereof, which the collector, of the port classified as “ furniture finished,” under the provision for “ cabinet ware and house furniture, finished,” contained in Schedule D of the tariff act of March 3, 1883, and upon which he laid and collected duty at the rate of 35 per cent ad valorem. Against this classification and exaction tlie importers duly protested, claiming that the furniture was in piece and not finished, and therefore dutiable at 30 per cent

On the trial the plaintiffs in the action introduced testimony tending to show that the furniture in question consisted of Yienna bent wood chairs,. settees, etc., which were imported into this country in separate parts or pieces, but varnished or polished, and requiring nothing but to be screwed together, (the holes for screws or bolts being already prepared,) and. to have the ends of the screws or bolts “touched up” with paint or varnish, to form articles of furniture fit for use. The bolts or screws used came over with the furniture, and all the parts of the articles, as received by the importer, were ready to be put together. A sample chair, in the condition in which it was received by the importers, was brought into court by the plaintiffs, and the manner of putting the parts together was explained to the jury. The plaintiffs also introduced the testimony of a liquidator of duties, at the custom-house of New York, to the effect that the difference between the amount of duties exacted from the plaintiffs and the sum which would have been collectible from them if the furniture had been assessed at 30 per cent ad valorem amounted, with interest, to $443.34.

The testimony on behalf of the defendant tended to show that the articles of furniture described were first put together at the factory in completed form, then varnished or polished, and then taken apart and packed for shipment. The term “ finished,” as applied to furniture, had, in the furniture trade,

Upon'the conclusion of the testimony the defendant’s counsel moved the court (1) to direct the jury to find a verdict for the defendant on the ground that the uncontradicted evidence in the case and the exhibit showed that the furniture imported was “furniture finished,” within the meaning of the statute; (2) that the jury be directed to find a verdict for the defendant on the ground that the plaintiffs had not proven facts sufficient to enable them to recover;' and (3) to allow the case to go to .the jury on the question of whether the furniture imported was “ furniture finished,” or “ furniture in piece, or Tough, and not finished,” within the meaning of the statute. These motions having been successively made and denied, and exceptions to the denials duly taken, the court, on motion of the plaintiff’s counsel, directed the jury to render a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs for the sum of $443.34. The jury then found a verdict for the plaintiffs in the said amount, and judgment was entered October 7, 1889, in accordance therewith. The defendant thereupon sued out a writ of error.

The subject of contention presented by this record is simply as to the proper construction, of the statute. The collector put in testimony to show that in the furniture trade the word “ finished ” had a particular trade meaning, and the court below refused to permit the application of such meaning, if it should be found to exist, to the word as used in the act. The question is, therefore, whether, if a term used in a tariff law has a general meaning, as understood by society at large, and also a special trade signification, it' is to be presumed that Congress used the word in its ■ general sense, or in its trade sense.

With regard to the language of commerce, the general rule

While a customs law taxing an article which every one in the community might be expected to import, such as “ wearing apparel,” may use words which every one understands, and which, unless taken in the ordinary sense, would mislead the whole community, and cannot, therefore, be, supposed -to-be intended in any other sense, unless there is something to-indicate such intention, yet, on the other hand, a tariff law may use language not intended for the community at large, but for merchants, or for a particular trade, and such as to-mislead those for whom it is intended, if not taken in the-commercial or trade sense; and such language is that under consideration, speaking of a manufactured article in various stages of its construction. In such a case, as in the other case, the words are to be taken in the sense in which they will be-naturally understood by those to whom they are addressed.

We are of opinion that as the collector offered to prove that, the word in question, had, at and prior to the passage of the act of 1883, a particular trade meaning, the court should have-considered the trade meaning, if established, as applicable to

The judgment of the court below is reversed, cmd the case remanded, with directions to award a new trial, cmd proceed in conformity with this opinion.