Gauthier v. Bell
U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Eastern Michigan
This was an action [by Charles W. Gau-thier] against [Digby V. Bell] the collector of the port of Detroit, to recover duties alleged to have been illegally exacted upon certain imported fish. Plaintiff was in the habit of purchasing fish caught in the Detroit river and Lake Erie, and of freezing them in barrels or large cakes and exporting them to Detroit, where they were put upon the market or shipped in this frozen condition to distant cities and sold as fresh fish.
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This was an action [by Charles W. Gau-thier] against [Digby V. Bell] the collector of the port of Detroit, to recover duties alleged to have been illegally exacted upon certain imported fish. Plaintiff was in the habit of purchasing fish caught in the Detroit river and Lake Erie, and of freezing them in barrels or large cakes and exporting them to Detroit, where they were put upon the market or shipped in this frozen condition to distant cities and sold as fresh fish. Plaintiff claimed them to be free of duty under Rev. St. § 2505, which exempts from duty “fish, fresh, for immediate…
1Opinion of the Court
BROWN, District Judge.
Although the fish in question are frozen in barrels or in large pans in a solid mass or cake, I think they are still to be considered as fresh fish. This term is obviously used in contradistinction to fish which are cured, salted, smoked, dried, pickled, or otherwise rendered capable of preservation for an indefinite length of time. The testimony shows clearly that frozen fish retain their flavor so long as the temperature is preserved below the freezing point, and that they are sold in the market and known to the trade as fresh fish.
The only difficulty in this case…
2Cited by3 opinions
- United States v. Morris European & American Express Co.Court of Customs and Patent Appeals · 1912
- United States v. DominiciCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 1897
- United States v. Ricard-Brewster Oil Co.Court of Customs and Patent Appeals · 1942