Attention K Mart Shoppers: In K Mart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc. the Supreme Court Granted District Courts Jurisdiction in Gray Market Disputes

Authors

Thomas H. Wolfe

Abstract

Overshadowed by the more controversial substantive questions raised by the gray market problem has been the issue of jurisdiction over gray market cases. In K Mart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the federal district courts, and not the Court of International Trade, have jurisdiction over gray market cases. The Court held that the statute controlling gray market importation cannot be considered an embargo, as that word was intended to be used by Congress. The author argues that the Supreme Court misinterpreted Congress' intent when Congress granted the Court of International Trade jurisdiction over cases involving "embargoes or other quantitative restrictions." The author concludes that a broad reading of the jurisdictional statute was intended by Congress, and as a result the Supreme Court should have held that the Court of International Trade has jurisdiction over gray market cases. Such a holding would have required dismissal of the K Mart case.

Recommended Citation

Thomas H. Wolfe, Attention K Mart Shoppers: In K Mart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc. the Supreme Court Granted District Courts Jurisdiction in Gray Market Disputes, 10 UC Law SF Comm. & Ent. L.J. 1131 (1988).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_comm_ent_law_journal/vol10/iss4/10