McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. State Board of Equalization

Opinion

ORTEGA, J.—

Introduction

Plaintiff McDonnell Douglas Corporation (MDC) sold aircraft parts to Aeromexico, the Mexican national airline, to service Aeromexico’s airplanes. Aeromexico received the parts at MDC’s Long Beach plant and shipped them by United States (U.S.) common carriers to the U.S.-Mexican border at San Ysidro, California, where AM MEX International, a forwarding agent, processed them through U.S. and Mexican customs. After a 48-hour customs delay, the parts were loaded onto Mexican common carriers and shipped to Aeromexico’s Mexico City maintenance facility.

Although the…