Rubeck v. Divis, 21-8043

Plaintiff Dennis Perri Rubeck, proceeding pro se, sued the Sweetwater County tax assessor under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 seeking immediate and permanent removal of his home from county tax rolls.
Rubeck alleged the county lacked authority to assess taxes on the property.
The district court dismissed the complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1), citing the Tax Injunction Act (28 U.S.C. § 1341) and principles of comity.
The district court found Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-13-109 provided an adequate state-court remedy; Rubeck did not dispute that adequacy on appeal.
On appeal the Tenth Circuit reviewed the jurisdictional dismissal de novo and considered whether Rubeck’s federal/civil-rights framing avoided the Tax Injunction Act.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed, relying on precedent that civil‑rights or constitutional claims do not exempt a case from the Tax Injunction Act when an adequate state remedy exists.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the Tax Injunction Act bars federal injunctive relief against state tax assessment	Rubeck argued federal court can grant relief under § 1983	TIA bars federal injunctive relief when a plain, speedy, efficient state remedy exists (Wyo. Stat. § 39‑13‑109)	Affirmed: TIA bars the suit; Rubeck did not contest the state‑remedy finding
Whether asserting federal civil‑rights or constitutional claims avoids the TIA bar	Rubeck contended his federal constitutional/civil‑rights claim exempts him from § 1341	Precedent: framing as civil‑rights claim does not avoid § 1341	Held: Precedent forecloses the argument; civil‑rights claims do not bypass the TIA

Safe Streets All. v. Hickenlooper, 859 F.3d 865 (10th Cir. 2017) (de novo review of jurisdictional dismissal)
Brooks v. Nance, 801 F.2d 1237 (10th Cir. 1986) (civil‑rights or constitutional framing does not avoid the Tax Injunction Act)
Sawyers v. Norton, 962 F.3d 1270 (10th Cir. 2020) (issues not raised in the opening brief are deemed waived)