[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 64 (Monday, April 4, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-7974]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: April 4, 1994]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
[File No. 932 3168]
El Portal Luggage, Inc.; Proposed Consent Agreement With Analysis
To Aid Public Comment
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Proposed consent agreement.
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SUMMARY: In settlement of alleged violations of federal law prohibiting
unfair acts and practices and unfair methods of competition, this
consent agreement, accepted subject to final Commission approval, would
prohibit, among other things, a Nevada-based retailer of leather goods
from misrepresenting the identity of the country of origin of any
product it sells, and from removing, altering, obliterating, or
concealing any country of origin designation attached to a product that
it receives or offers for sale.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 3, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be directed to: FTC/Office of the Secretary,
room 159, 6th St. and Pa. Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20580.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sylvia Kundig, FTC/San Francisco Regional Office, 901 Market St., suite
570, San Francisco, CA 94103. (415) 744-7920.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal
Trade Commission Act, 38 Stat. 721, 15 U.S.C. 46 and Sec. 2.34 of the
Commission's Rules of Practice (16 CFR 2.34), notice is hereby given
that the following consent agreement containing a consent order to
cease and desist, having been filed with and accepted, subject to final
approval, by the Commission, has been placed on the public record for a
period of sixty (60) days. Public comment is invited. Such comments or
views will be considered by the Commission and will be available for
inspection and copying at its principal office in accordance with
Sec. 4.9(b)(6)(ii) of the Commission's Rules of Practice (16 CFR
4.9(b)(6)(ii)).
Agreement Containing Consent Order To Cease and Desist
The Federal Trade Commission having initiated an investigation of
certain acts and practices of El Portal Luggage, Inc., a corporation,
and it now appears that El Portal Luggage Inc., a corporation,
hereinafter sometimes referred to as proposed respondent, is willing to
enter into an agreement containing an order to cease and desist from
the use of the acts and practices being investigated.
It is hereby agreed by and between El Portal Luggage, Inc., by its
duly authorized officer, and its attorney, and counsel for the Federal
Trade Commission that:
1. Proposed respondent El Portal Luggage, Inc. is a corporation
organized, existing and doing business under and by virtue of the laws
of the State of Nevada, with its office and principal place of business
located at 4432 Aldebaran Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada 89103.
2. Proposed respondent admits all the jurisdictional facts set
forth in the draft complaint here attached.
3. Proposed respondent waives:
(a) Any further procedural steps;
(b) The requirement that the Commission's decision contain a
statement of findings of fact and conclusions of law;
(c) All rights to seek judicial review or otherwise to challenge or
contest the validity of the order entered pursuant to this agreement;
and
(d) Any claim under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
4. This agreement shall not become part of the public record of the
proceeding unless and until it is accepted by the Commission. If this
agreement is accepted by the Commission, it, together with the draft of
complaint contemplated thereby, will be placed on the public record for
a period of sixty (60) days and information in respect thereto publicly
released. The Commission thereafter may either withdraw its acceptance
of this agreement and so notify the proposed respondent, in which event
it will take such action as it may consider appropriate, or issue and
serve its complaint (in such form as the circumstances may require) and
decision, in disposition of the proceeding.
5. This agreement is for settlement purposes only and does not
constitute an admission by the proposed respondent of facts, other than
jurisdictional facts, or of violations of law as alleged in the draft
of complaint here attached.
6. This agreement contemplates that, if it is accepted by the
Commission, and if such acceptance is not subsequently withdrawn by the
Commission pursuant to the provisions of Sec. 2.34 of the Commission's
Rules, the Commission may, without further notice to proposed
respondent, (1) issue its complaint corresponding in form and substance
with the draft of complaint here attached and its decision containing
the following order to cease and desist in disposition of the
proceeding and (2) make information public in respect thereto. When so
entered, the order to cease and desist shall have the same force and
effect and may be altered, modified or set aside in the same manner and
within the same time provided by statute for other orders. The order
shall become final upon service. Delivery by the U.S. Postal Service of
the complaint and decision containing the agreed-to order to proposed
respondent's address as stated in this agreement shall constitute
service. Proposed respondent waives any right it may have to any other
manner of service. The complaint may be used in construing the terms of
the order, and no agreement, understanding, representation, or
interpretation not contained in the order or the agreement may be used
to vary or contradict the terms of the order.
7. Proposed respondent has read the proposed complaint and order
contemplated hereby. It understands that once the order has been
issued, it will be required to file one or more compliance reports
showing that it has fully complied with the order. Proposed respondent
further understands that it may be liable for civil penalties in the
amount provided by law for each violation of the order after it becomes
final.
Order
I
It is ordered that respondent, El Portal Luggage, Inc., a
corporation, its successors and assigns, and its officers, and
respondent's agents, representatives and employees, directly or through
any corporation, subsidiary, division or other device, in connection
with the labelling, advertising, promotion, offering for sale, sale or
distribution of any product in or affecting commerce, as ``commerce''
is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act, do forthwith cease and
desist from misrepresenting, in any manner, directly or by implication,
the identify of the country-of-origin of any product.
II
It is further ordered that respondent, El Portal Luggage, Inc., a
corporation, its successors and assigns, and its officers, and
respondent's agents, representatives and employees, directly or through
any corporation, subsidiary, division or other device, in connection
with the offering for sale, sale or distribution of any product in or
affecting commerce, as ``commerce'' is defined in the Federal Trade
Commission Act, do forthwith cease and desist from removing, altering,
obliterating, or concealing any country-of-origin designation that is
on or attached to any product that respondent receives and offers for
sale.
III
It is further ordered that for five (5) years after the last date
of dissemination of any representation covered by this Order,
respondents, or its successors and assigns, shall maintain and upon
request make available to the Federal Trade Commission for inspection
and copying all materials that were relied on in disseminating such
representations.
IV
It is further ordered that the respondent shall:
A. Within thirty (30) days after the date of service of this Order,
provide a copy of this Order to each of its current directors and
officers, and to each employee, agent, and representative having any
sales, advertising, or policy responsibility with respect to the
subject matter of this Order, and obtain from each such person a signed
statement acknowledging receipt of this Order; and
B. For ten (10) years from the date of issuance of this Order,
provide a copy of this Order to each of its directors and officers, and
to each employee, agent, and representative having any sales,
advertising, or policy responsibility with respect to the subject
matter of this Order, within fifteen (15) days after such person
commences his or her duties, and obtain from each such person a signed
statement acknowledging receipt of this Order.
V
It is further ordered that respondent shall notify the Commission,
at least thirty (30) days prior to any proposed change in the
respondent such as dissolution, assignment, or sale resulting in the
emergence of a successor corporation, the creation or dissolution of
subsidiaries, or any other change in the corporation that may affect
compliance obligations arising out of the Order.
VI
It is further ordered that respondent shall, within sixty (60) days
after the date of service of this Order upon it and at such other times
as the Commission may require, file with the Commission a report, in
writing, setting forth in detail the manner and form in which it has
complied with this Order.
Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment
The Federal Trade Commission has accepted an agreement to a
proposed Consent Order from El Portal Luggage, Inc.
The proposed Consent Order has been placed on the public record for
sixty (60) days for receipt of comments by interested persons. Comments
received during this period will become part of the public record.
After sixty (60) days, the Commission will again review the agreement
and the comments received and will decide whether it should withdraw
from the agreement and take other appropriate action, or make final the
proposed Order contained in the agreement.
This matter concerns the misrepresentation of the country-of-origin
of certain luggage products of foreign manufacture that the proposed
respondent offers for sale. The Commission's proposed Complaint alleges
that some of the goods that El Portal Luggage, Inc. offers for sale are
foreign-made, and that when El Portal Luggage, Inc. receives these
goods they have labels attached that indicate the country-of-origin.
The proposed complaint further alleges that El Portal Luggage, Inc.
deliberately removed the country-of-origin labels during a period when
El Portal's window and in-store signage emphasized that many of the
products it offered for sale were of domestic manufacture. Finally, the
proposed Complaint alleges that these activities represented, directly
or by implication, that the goods without foreign-origin labels were
manufactured in the United States. The representation is alleged to
violate section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 45,
because the goods with the labels removed were not manufactured in the
United States.
The proposed Consent Order prohibits the proposed respondent from
misrepresenting, directly or by implication, the identity of the
country-of-origin of any product. It also prohibits the proposed
respondent from removing, altering, obliterating, or concealing any
country-of-origin designation that is attached to any product the
proposed respondent receives and offers for sale.
Finally, the proposed Consent Order contains provisions requiring
record retention demonstrating compliance with the Order; distribution
of the Order to employees; notification to the Commission of any
changes in the structure of the corporation; and reports to the
Commission demonstrating compliance with the terms of the Order.
The purpose of this analysis is to facilitate public comment of the
proposed Order. It is not intended to constitute an official
interpretation of the agreement and proposed Order or to modify in any
way their terms.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-7974 Filed 4-1-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-M