28 U.S.C. § 1659
Section 1659 · Stay of certain actions pending disposition of related proceedings before the United States International Trade Commission
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 18 court decisions — leading case Virtualagility Inc. v. Salesforce.com, Inc. (2014)
Most recently applied in Vicor Corp. v. FII USA Inc. (March 2025)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) Stay.—In a civil action involving parties that are also parties to a proceeding before the United States International Trade Commission under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, at the request of a party to the civil action that is also a respondent in the proceeding before the Commission, the district court shall stay, until the determination of the Commission becomes final, proceedings in the civil action with respect to any claim that involves the same issues involved in the proceeding before the Commission, but only if such request is made within—
(1) 30 days after the party is named as a respondent in the proceeding before the Commission, or
(2) 30 days after the district court action is filed,
whichever is later.
(b) Use of Commission Record.—Notwithstanding section 337(n)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, after dissolution of a stay under subsection (a), the record of the proceeding before the United States International Trade Commission shall be transmitted to the district court and shall be admissible in the civil action, subject to such protective order as the district court determines necessary, to the extent permitted under the Federal Rules of Evidence and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, referred to in text, is classified to section 1337 of Title 19, Customs Duties.
The Federal Rules of Evidence and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, referred to in subsec. (b), are set out in the Appendix to this title.
Effective Date
Section applicable with respect to complaints filed under section 1337 of Title 19, Customs Duties, on or after the date on which the World Trade Organization Agreement enters into force with respect to the United States [Jan. 1, 1995], or in cases under section 1337 of Title 19 in which no complaint is filed, with respect to investigations initiated under such section on or after such date, see section 322 of Pub. L. 103–465, set out as an Effective Date of 1994 Amendment note under section 1337 of Title 19.