USCIT Denies Amicus Curiae for Multilayered Wood Flooring

Tweet

August 14, 2014

    Judge Donald C. Pogue of the United States Court of International Trade denied the Alliance for Free Choice and Jobs in Floorings (AFCJF) motion to file an amicus brief against Multilayered Wood Flooring from the People’s Republic of China.  AFCJF’s describes themselves as “organization of American distributors, retailers, importers and end users of engineered wood flooring as well as lumber exporters and other U.S. companies.”  This particular product is defined by the Department of Commerce as “an assembly of two or more layers or plies of wood veneer.” 

    AFCJF’s motion was denied because the members of the organization were involved in the initial investigation by the Department of Commerce.  Amicus curiae are filed by individuals who were not part of the original trial or investigation and are “friend[s] of the court” though they “need not be totally disinterested.”   Judge Pogue also reasoned that AFCJF “here seek[s] not so much to be a friend of the court as to compensate for a failure to timely intervene [in the initial proceedings].  Accordingly, granting them amicus standing is inappropriate.”  AFCJF members hoped to reduce their dumping rates ordered by the Department of Commerce.

For more information, please continue to visit www.barnesrichardson.com.