Federal judge boots marijuana trimming firm’s case against US Border Patrol

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(A version of this story first appeared at Hemp Industry Daily.)

A Washington state-based marijuana and hemp equipment manufacturer’s lawsuit against the U.S. Customs and Border Protection for blocking its shipments was dropped from the U.S. district court docket.

According to Law360, a federal judge on Friday denied Keirton USA’s request for an injunction to prevent the Border Patrol from blocking its imports and backed the agency’s argument that the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) could hear the company’s claims.

“The CIT has exclusive jurisdiction over any civil action contesting the denial of a protest,” U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly wrote in a ruling obtained by Law360.

Keirton USA, a subsidiary of Surrey, British Columbia-based engineering firm Keirton, sued the CBP last year for seizing several shipments and calling them drug paraphernalia.

Keirton USA, headquartered in Ferndale, Washington, imports products made in China, Taiwan, Japan and Canada.

The company reached a settlement with the CBP after Keirton was denied a temporary restraining order.

But in January, Keirton USA claimed Customs agents again seized equipment needed to build a cannabis trimming machine in Blaine, Washington.

The company sued again in district court, rather than filing an administrative complaint with the CBP.

The judge rejected the company’s argument that it would go out of business without the imports and said the CIT could issue the same injunction.