Boritz v. United StatesBoritz v. United States
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Pro se
Plaintiff Peter Boritz brings this action against the United States and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS,” collectively with the United States, “Defendants”)
1
regarding allegedly unlawful tax collection and assessment activity. Plaintiff complains that Defendants have wrongfully held him liable for certain unpaid tax liabilities for tax years 1994 and 1995 and have issued a proeedurally improper Notice of Federal Tax Lien and Notice of Levy on his property. He primarily seeks relief pursuant to the Taxpayer Bill of Rights,
Currently pending before the Court is Defendants’ [7] Motion to Dismiss or in the Alternative Motion for Summary Judgment. Defendants argue that the United States is the only proper defendant in this action and that Plaintiffs claims should be dismissed under
Specifically, the Court holds as follows.
First,
Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs claims against the IRS is GRANTED as conceded.
Second,
Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Count I (quiet title action pursuant to
I. BACKGROUND
Plaintiff filed his Complaint on March 19, 2009. Plaintiffs Complaint represents one of dozens of lawsuits brought in this jurisdiction by tax protestors — allegedly proceeding
pro se
— asserting a variety of forms of misconduct by the IRS.
See Pollinger v. United States,
Although the allegations contained in Plaintiffs Complaint are somewhat nebulous in nature, Plaintiff appears to primarily complain about a Notice of Levy and a Notice of Federal Tax Lien issued by the IRS for the tax years 2004 and 2005. The former was issued on November 9, 2007, by the IRS against Plaintiffs bank account in the amount of $12,558.73 for tax years 1994 and 1995. Id. ¶8 & Ex. D (IRS Notice of Levy). The latter was filed shortly thereafter on November 13, 2007, with the County Auditor in King County, Washington in the amount of $21,485.89 for the tax years 1994 and 1995. Id. ¶ 9 & Ex. C (IRS Notice of Federal Tax Lien).
Plaintiff now seeks to challenge the validity of both the Notice of Levy and Notice of Federal Tax Lien. At heart, Plaintiff disputes the underlying tax assessment issued against him for tax years 1994 and 1995, alleging that he “is the sole owner of his physical and mental labor” and that he “does NOT owe the UNITED STATES, or any employees working on its behalf, the fruit of his labor property.” Id. ¶¶ 2, 6 (emphasis in original). Plaintiff further claims that he has “filed all returns required to be filed for tax years 1994 and 1995 and fully satisfied and paid all income taxes Plaintiff was made liable for and required to pay regarding the years in dispute.” Id. ¶ 7 (emphasis in original).
Despite Plaintiffs unequivocal denial of any substantive liability for tax years 1994 and 1995 and his clear attack on the validity of the underlying tax assessments, Plaintiff has — in an apparent effort to avoid many of the same pitfalls that have befallen previous tax protester lawsuits— attempted to frame his lawsuit as asserting only procedural, rather than substantive, challenges to the Notice of Levy and Notice of Federal Tax Lien. Specifically, Plaintiff asserts the following nine causes of action in his Complaint:
• Count I: seeks to quiet title to the property that is the subject of the Notice of Levy and Notice of Federal Tax Lien pursuant to28 U.S.C. § 2410 ;
• Count II: alleges a claim for monetary damages pursuant to26 U.S.C. § 7433 based upon Defendants’ alleged failure to send a notice of deficiency to Plaintiffs last known address prior to issuance of the Notice of Levy in violation of26 U.S.C. §§ 6212(a) and 6213(a);
• Count III: alleges a claim for monetary damages pursuant to26 U.S.C. § 7433 based upon Defendants’ alleged failure to make a timely assessment in violation of26 U.S.C. § 6203 ;
• Count IV: alleges a claim for monetary damages pursuant to 26 § U.S.C.§ 7433 based upon Defendants’ alleged failure to provide a timely notice of assessment in violation of26 U.S.C. § 6303 ;
• Count V: alleges a claim for monetary damages pursuant to26 U.S.C. § 7432 based upon Defendants’ alleged failure to release the Notice of Federal Tax Lien in violation of26 U.S.C. § 6325(a)(1) ;
• Count VI: alleges a claim for monetary damages pursuant to26 U.S.C. § 7433 based upon Defendants’ alleged failure to serve him with a notice of levy in violation of26 U.S.C. § 6331(d)(2) ;
• Count VII: alleges a claim for monetary damages pursuant to26 U.S.C. § 7433 based upon Defendants’ allegedly unauthorized public disclosure of his social security number on the Notice of Federal Tax Lien in violation of26 U.S.C. § 6103(b)(6) ;
• Count VIII: alleges a claim for monetary damages pursuant to26 U.S.C. § 7433 based upon Defendants’ alleged failure to issue a certificate of release with respect to the Notice of Federal Tax Lien in violation of26 U.S.C. § 6325(a)(1) ; and
• Count IX: alleges that Defendants acted in excess of their statutory authority and seeks non-monetary declaratory and injunctive relief pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act,5 U.S.C. § 706(2) .
See generally Compl.
As set forth in his Complaint, Plaintiff states that he previously submitted an administrative claim with the IRS and filed this lawsuit only after exhausting his administrative remedies. See id. ¶¶ 11-13 & Ex. A. Now before the Court is Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss or in the Alternative Motion for Summary Judgment. See Defs.’ Mot., Docket No. [7]. Plaintiff has filed his opposition to Defendants’ Motion, see Pl.’s Opp’n, Docket No. [10], and Defendants have filed their reply, see Defs.’ Reply, Docket No. [11]. Briefing on Defendants’ Motion is therefore complete and the issues are ripe for the Court’s resolution.
II. LEGAL STANDARDS
Defendants have moved for dismissal of Plaintiffs Complaint pursuant to
In this case, Defendants have attached five exhibits to their motion' — namely, the June 10, 1998 Order and Decision of the United States Tax Court in
Boritz v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
and four Certificates of Official Record (Form 3430) relating to Plaintiff concerning tax years 1994 and 1995.
See
Defs.’ Mot. at Exs. AE. All of the attached exhibits may be
Here, Defendants have moved to dismiss Plaintiffs claims against the IRS as well as Counts I (quiet title action pursuant to
With this framework in place, the Court shall set forth the applicable legal standards relating to Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss pursuant to
A court must dismiss a case when it lacks subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to
B. Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require that a complaint contain “ ‘a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,’ in order to ‘give the defendant fair notice of what the ... claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.’ ”
Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly,
In evaluating a
C. Motion for Summary Judgment Pursuant to
Pursuant to
Although a court should draw all inferences from the supporting records submitted by the nonmoving party, the mere existence of a factual dispute, by itself, is insufficient to bar summary judgment.
See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477
U.S. 242, 248,
A. Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to
The Court turns first to consider Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss pursuant to
1. Plaintiff’s Claims Against Defendant IRS
As indicated above, Plaintiff has named as Defendants in this action both the United States and the IRS. Defendants contend that the United States is the only proper defendant in this action and have therefore moved to dismiss Plaintiffs claims against the IRS for lack of jurisdiction. Although Plaintiff filed an opposition to Defendants’ motion, he failed to address Defendants’ specific argument that the IRS must be dismissed as a defendant in this case.
See generally
Pl.’s Opp’n. “It is well understood in this Circuit that when a plaintiff files an opposition to a dispositive motion and addresses only certain arguments raised by the defendant, a court may treat those arguments that the plaintiff failed to address as conceded.”
Hopkins v. Women’s Div., General Bd. of Global Ministries,
2. Count I of Plaintiff’s Complaint
Count I of Plaintiffs Complaint purports to bring a quiet title action pursuant to
“It is elementary that the United States, as sovereign, is immune from suit save as it consents to be sued, and the terms of its consent to be sued in any court define that court’s jurisdiction to entertain that suit.”
United States v. Mitchell,
In Count IX of the Complaint, Plaintiff alleges that Defendants acted in excess of their statutory authority and seeks non-monetary declaratory and injunctive relief pursuant to the
Second, Plaintiffs claim for declaratory relief is barred by the Declaratory Judgment Act,
B. Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to
The Court turns next to consider Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss for failure to state a claim pursuant to
1. Count II of Plaintiffs Complaint
Count II of Plaintiffs Complaint alleges that Defendants failed to send a notice of deficiency to Plaintiffs last known address before issuing the Notice of Levy thereby violating
“The purpose of a notice of deficiency is, first, to notify the taxpayer that a deficiency has been determined against him, and second, to afford him an opportunity to challenge the determination in tax court.”
Kiley v. Kurtz,
Reading the interrelated sections of the Code as an integrated whole, it is apparent that the legislative plan contemplates that actual notice of the deficiency should be given where such can reasonably be achieved and that the mailing authorized by§ 6212(a) is a means to that end.
Clodfelter v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue,
Plaintiff in this case alleges that he did not receive the required notice of deficiency prior to the issuance of the Notice of Levy and argues that Defendants are therefore in violation of
Plaintiff concedes that he filed a petition in Tax Court for tax years 1994 and 1995, but argues that he did so “without said notices, based on other letters and notices received from the IRS alleging the assessment of penalties.” Pl.’s Opp’n at 8. Even assuming, as Plaintiff apparently asserts, that none of the “letters and notices” he received from the IRS constituted the required notice of deficiency, this does not negate that Plaintiff had actual notice of the deficiencies and filed a timely petition in Tax Court for the tax years in question. As the IRS’ mailings and notices “result[ed] in actual notice without prejudicial delay (as was clearly the case here),” the Court finds that the IRS has “[met] the conditions of
2. Count III and Count TV of Plaintiff s Complaint
Counts III and IV of Plaintiffs Complaint seek damages pursuant to
Both claims therefore relate to the IRS’ assessment of tax liability. As such, the claims are not actionable under
S. Count V and Count VIII of Plaintiff s Complaint
In Count V and Count VIII of the Complaint, Plaintiff alleges that Defendants have failed to release the Notice of Federal Tax Lien and issue a certificate of release as required by
In this case, the parties agree that the Notice of Federal Tax Lien is now unenforceable because the ten-year limitation periods for collection of the underlying tax assessment have expired. See Compl. ¶ 56; Defs.’ Mot. at 9 (“the liens have not been refiled and are considered released”). This is confirmed by reference to the Notice of Federal Tax Lien, which is attached as an exhibit to Plaintiffs Complaint and which states as follows:
IMPORTANT RELEASE INFORMATION: For each assessment listed below, unless notice of the lien is refiled by the date given in column (e), this notice shall, on the day following such date, operate as a certificate of release as defined in IRC 6325(a).
Id.,
Ex. C. There is no allegation by Plaintiff that the liens have been refiled; indeed, Plaintiff alleges that the liens are now unenforceable
(ie.,
that no enforceable lien was refiled).
See id.
¶¶ 54-56. Accordingly, the Notice of Federal Tax Lien itself operated as the certificate of release required under
A Count VII of Plaintiff s Complaint
In Count VII of the Complaint, Plaintiff seeks damages under
Based on
C. Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment
The Court finally turns to consider Defendants’ motion for summary judgment, which as construed by the Court is directed towards Plaintiffs final claim— Count VI, in which Plaintiff alleges that Defendants failed to serve him with a notice of levy, as required by
Nonetheless, cognizant of Plaintiffs
pro se
status, the Court shall give Plaintiff the benefit of the doubt and instead construe Count VI as alleging that Defendants violated
IV. CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, Defendants’ [7] Motion to Dismiss or in the Alternative Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED. Specifically, the Court holds as follows.
First,
Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs claims against the IRS is GRANTED as conceded.
Second,
Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Count I (quiet title action pursuant to
Notes
. As discussed below, the Court grants Defendants’ motion to dismiss the IRS as a defendant in this action. The Court nevertheless refers to the United States and the IRS collectively as "Defendants” in this opinion, so as to be consistent with the parties' filings.
. The Court notes that Plaintiff was given notice that Defendants' motion may be treated as a motion for summary judgment under
. Alternatively, the Court notes that Plaintiff's claims for monetary damages under
. Although Plaintiff argues in his briefing that
. As shown by the Tax Court Order, Plaintiff was held to have outstanding tax deficiencies for the years in question. See Tax Court Order.
. While some courts have held that the limitations on the right of action under
. Alternatively, the Court notes that Defendants would be entitled to summary judgment as the undisputed facts demonstrate that assessments were timely made and that notice was sent to Plaintiff as required. Defendants submit the Certificates of Official Record (Form 4340), regarding Plaintiff's tax liability in the tax years 1994 and 1995, which demonstrate that assessments were made, and that notice and demand in accordance with