Pollak Import Export Corp. v. The United States

Pollak Import Export Corp. (Pollak) (plaintiff) imported waist-length women’s boiled-wool jackets. Pollak challenged the classification of Pollak’s jacket as a knit-wool coat by the United States (Customs) (defendant) under the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS). The tariff term coat did not have a TSUS definition or legislative history to suggest its meaning. Customs classified Pollak’s jacket using the Textile Category Guidelines for Fabric and Garments (the Customs guidelines) and the Customs’ past practice of classifying all jackets as coats. Both parties presented dictionary definitions of the term coat, each of which described the coat’s function as being an outer garment. Customs presented the Customs guidelines provisions for coats. An expert for Customs testified that the Customs guidelines specified that all tailored cardigans fell under the coat classification. Customs also presented several past Customs decisions that classified waist-length jackets as coats. Pollak introduced testimony asserting that the common meaning of the term coat included only garments that were worn mainly outdoors, over other clothing, for protection from the elements. Pollak also offered testimony from two experts that a jacket should only be considered a coat if the jacket was designed to protect against the elements. Another expert for Pollak testified that jackets treated for water repellency and worn as outerwear are coats, whereas jackets worn indoors are not coats. Regarding the principal use of Pollak’s jacket, Pollak provided credible, convincing evidence that the jacket was primarily worn indoors.