United States v. One Trunk
Opinion of the Court
It seems hardly necessary to add anything to the full discussion of the facts and the law which is found in the opinion of Judge Hand. ' Two grounds of forfeiture are asserted: (1) That the claimant made and attempted to make entry, of the trunk and merchandise contained therein both by means of a false and fraudulent baggage declaration and entry, and also by means of a false and fraudulent consular invoice, understating the value. (2) That the claimant had been guilty of a willful act or omission by means of which the United States might have been and was deprived of the lawful duties accruing on the merchandise, viz., the willful misstatement to the collector of the true price thereof — all with intent to defraud the revenues of the United States.
Before she left Europe Mrs. Gannon, no doubt with intent to defraud, procured a consular invoice which was regular in form, but understated the price of some of the costumes in the trunk. All these articles enumerated in the consular invoice, being merchandise intended for sale here, were packed in a single trunk, which contained nothing else. This» trunk and its contents were in no sense “passengers’ baggage.” Not even between the passenger and the carrier, for, had the trunk been lost through the carrier’s neglect, the owner could not have recovered damages for the loss, because by bringing it on board with her other packages, which contained wearing apparel and personal effects, without notifying the carrier that it contained merchandise only and offering to pay freight on it, she perpetrated a fraud on the carrier.
We are clearly of the opinion that the decree of the District Court should be affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES v. ONE TRUNK (GANNON, Claimant)
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published