Tri State Honey, LLC v. United States, 1:25-cv-00080

Tri State Honey, LLC imported eleven shipments of honey through Newark between April and August 2024.
Plaintiff alleged U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detained these shipments for almost a year without justification.
Tri State filed an administrative protest and requested accelerated disposition with CBP on September 27, 2024, seeking information on the detentions/exclusions.
Under the law, if CBP does not respond within 30 days to a request for accelerated disposition, the protest is deemed denied by operation of law—here, as of October 27, 2024.
Tri State filed this lawsuit contesting the denial on April 29, 2025.
The U.S. (defendant) moved to dismiss, arguing the court lacks jurisdiction due to untimely filing.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Did Tri State timely file its summons to contest the protest denial?	Tri State filed suit to contest CBP's denial after seeking accelerated disposition.	U.S. argues suit was filed 4 days after the statutory 180-day deadline expired.	Filing was untimely; case dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.

Steel Co. v. Citizens For A Better Env’t, 523 U.S. 83 (Supreme Court reaffirms jurisdiction is a threshold inquiry)
United States v. Mitchell, 445 U.S. 535 (Sovereign immunity and consent to suit must be explicit)
Ruckelshaus v. Sierra Club, 463 U.S. 680 (Waivers of sovereign immunity are construed strictly)
Pollak Import-Export Corp. v. United States, 52 F.3d 303 (Fed. Cir. 1995) (Timely filing under 28 U.S.C. § 2636(a) is a jurisdictional requirement)
RHI Holdings, Inc. v. United States, 142 F.3d 1459 (Fed. Cir. 1998) (No equitable exceptions to strict jurisdictional filing deadlines)