News & Events

On February 7, 2012, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a 47-page opinion affirming the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a putative class of domestic producers of honey, mushrooms, garlic and crawfish against the United States and various sureties, including STB’s client, in the United States Court of International Trade.  The claims arose out of customs bonds written by the sureties guaranteeing payment of anti-dumping duties that the United States had allegedly assessed on thinly-capitalized importers of honey, mushrooms, garlic and crawfish from China.  According to the complaint, the importers had defaulted on payment of anti-dumping duties and the sureties were wrongfully refusing to pay the Government hundreds of millions of dollars supposedly due under the bonds.  The domestic producers contended that, because domestic producers had a known statutory right to recoup from the government a ratable share of the antidumping duties payable under the customs bonds, domestic producers were intended third-party beneficiaries of those bonds with standing to sue sureties directly. 

STB’s client, Washington International Insurance Company, is a Swiss Re affiliate and one of the largest writers of customs bonds in the industry.   STB took the lead drafting a motion to dismiss and won dismissal of all claims against the sureties before the Court of International Trade.  The domestic producers appealed to the Federal Circuit.   STB again took the lead drafting the appellate brief and STB’s Mary Kay Vyskocil argued on behalf of the sureties earlier this year.  The Federal Circuit affirmed the dismissal, holding that the sureties were not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of International Trade and that the domestic producers were not, in any event, intended third party beneficiaries of the bonds with direct enforcement rights against the sureties.

The Simpson Thacher team included Barry Ostrager, Mary Kay Vyskocil, Michael Garvey, Shruti Raju, and a number of former associates over the history of the case.