[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]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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