Hines v. United StatesHines v. United States
OPINION
Plaintiff filed suit against defendants on the ground that levies attached by the Internal Revenue Service to his retirement benefits and other property were unlawful. The United States has since counterclaimed against plaintiff to reduce plaintiffs allegedly unpaid taxes to a judgment and for a penalty against plaintiff for advancing what it contends is frivolous litigation. This matter is now before the Court on defendants’ motion for summary judgment, plaintiffs motion to dismiss defendants’ counterclaim, plaintiffs motion to strike the United States’ affirmative defenses, and plaintiffs crossclaim. After careful consideration of the parties’ papers, the attached exhibits, and the relevant statutes, regulations and case law, the Court will grant defendants’ motion for summary judgment and deny plaintiffs motion to dismiss as to all issues, except that it will not award a penalty against plaintiff. 1
I. BACKGROUND
Plaintiff John T. Hines is a resident of St. Cloud, Florida.
See
Compl. at 1. Plaintiff last filed a federal tax return in September 2000.
See
Mot., Statement of Material Facts in Support of the United States’ Motion for Summary Judgment (“Def. Facts”) ¶ 14. The IRS assessed taxes, interest and penalties against plaintiff for tax years 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2003.
See id.
¶ 1. The IRS possesses transcripts which show that no
On May 29, 2008, plaintiff filed suit in this Court, seeking damages for these alleged illegal levies and seeking to enjoin future levies. On July 24, 2008, plaintiff moved for a preliminary injunction. After oral argument, the Court denied plaintiffs motion. The United States answered and counterclaimed to reduce plaintiffs allegedly unpaid taxes to a judgment and to impose a penalty on plaintiff. Plaintiff has moved to dismiss the counterclaim, made a filing styled as a “crossclaim” in response to the counterclaim, and moved to strike the United States’ affirmative defenses. The matter is now before the Court on the United States’ motion for summary judgment in its favor on all outstanding issues as well as on plaintiffs multiple motions.
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
Summary judgment may be granted if “the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits [or declarations] show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
An issue is “genuine” if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.
See Scott v. Harris,
The nonmoving party’s opposition, however, must consist of more than mere unsupported allegations or denials and must be supported by affidavits, declarations or other competent evidence, setting forth specific faсts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.
III. DISCUSSION
Section 7433 of Title 26 of the United States Code provides taxpayers a remedy, civil damages, for unauthorized tax collection actions. Relying on this statute, plaintiff challenges both the procedures used to institute the levies — -namely, that he allegedly did not receive notice as required by statute — and the amount leviеd from his Social Security retirement benefits.
Plaintiff has expressly styled his claim as one for civil damages from unauthorized collection activities.
See
Compl. ¶¶ 1, 32. According to plaintiff, it is not a claim for a refund under
A. The IRS Complied with Notice Requirements
The United States moves for summary judgment on plaintiffs claim that the IRS did not properly issue notice as required by
For proof that the IRS issued notice properly, the United States has attached IRS transcripts of account which show that notices were issued on August 23, 2004, December 26, 2005, and February 20,
The presumption of regularity “supports the оfficial acts of public officers and, in the absence of clear evidence to the contrary, courts presume that they have discharged their official duties.”
American Federation of Government Employees v. Reagan,
Plaintiff also argues that even if the IRS mailed the notices, it did not mail them to his “last known address,” as required by statute.
See
[A] taxpayer’s last known address is the address that appears on the taxpayer’s most recently filed and properly processed Federal tax return, unless the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is given clear and concise notification of a different address.... [In addition] [t]he IRS will update taxpayer addresses maintained in IRS records by referring to data accumulated and maintained in the United States Postal Service (USPS) National Change of Address [“NCOA”] database.... The new address in theNCOA database is the taxpayer’s last known address.
Plaintiff raises various challenges to whether the IRS sent the notice letters to the appropriate address. He does not, however, provide any evidence of what should have been considered his “last known address” within the meaning of the regulations. Plaintiff does not provide the Court with either tax rеturns he filed prior to the attachment of the levies or with any documentation showing that he provided the IRS with a notice of change of address. Plaintiffs opposition brief states that it was his practice to regularly update his address on the USPS NCOA database,
see
Opp. at 9, but he does not make this statement in a sworn affidavit or declaration, nor does he provide other competent evidence. Plaintiff also makes much of the fact that the IRS mailed certain notices of levy to a California address and states that he has not lived at that address for many years.
See id.
But again, the statement that he moved away from California years ago is in his opposition brief and is not sworn. Nor is there any evidence that plaintiff provided the IRS with documentation that he moved from that address. Plaintiff has not provided even a
“scintilla of evidence”
to defeat the presumption that the IRS acted properly under the statute by complying with the requirement to mail the notices to his last known address.
Freedman v. MCI Telecommunications Corp., 255
F.3d at 845 (emphasis added). Without some evidence, he cannot defeat summary judgment on this ground.
See Bullard v. United States,
B. The Amount of the Levy was Lawful
Plaintiff argues that the levy on his social security retirement benefits was illegal because it violated the fifteen percent cap on “continuous” levies imposed by
Both
Generally, a levy extends only to property possessed and obligations existing at the time levy is made. Sec. 6331(b). As an exception to this general rule,section 6331(e) provides for a continuing levy on “salary or wages.” The continuing levy attaches to salary or wages earned but not yet paid at the time of levy, advances on salary or wages made after the date of levy, and salary or wages earned and becoming payable after the date of levy.... Sec. 6331(h) also provides for a continuing levy that attaches up to 15 percent of any “specified payment” duе to the taxpayer.
See Meehan v. Comm’r,
The United States argues that because the IRS levied plaintiffs Social Security benefit payments, to which plaintiff had
an existing right
at the time the levy attached, the levy was appropriate under
As the United States points out, the permissive languаge of the statute gives the Secretary discretion to approve levies under
C. The United States’ Counterclaims
The United States moves for summary judgment on its counterclaim against plaintiff for a penalty under
The United States also moves for summary judgment on Count Two of its counterclaim, which seeks a judgment against plaintiff for his assessed tax liabilities. Plaintiff moves to dismiss Count Two on the grounds that it is untimely and that it is unsupported by evidence. The counterclaim was timely filed.
See
The United States submitted evidence showing that the unpaid balances on plaintiffs assessed taxes for the tax years 2000, 2001, and 2003, including accrued interest and penalties, were $233,361.69, $6,577.44, and $25,912.49, respеctively.
See
Haber Decl. ¶ 9 (describing tax assessments). The IRS’s tax assessments are presumptively correct.
United States v. D’Italia,
D. Remaining Issues
Plaintiff moves to strike the United States’ affirmative defenses as insufficient, impertinent, immaterial, false and inconsistent. See Mot. to Strike at 1. The Court did not rely on any of the United States’ affirmative defenses challenged by plaintiff in reaching the decisions in this Opinion. Accordingly, it will deny the motion as moot.
Plaintiff also filed a crossclaim against defendants as well as against the Departmеnt of Justice. Doing so was procedurally improper — in order to add allegations or defendants, the plaintiff had to file a motion to amend his complaint pursuant to
An Order consistent with this Opinion will issue this same day.
Notes
. The Court has before it the following papers: the Cоmplaint (‘'Compl.''); Defendants' Amended Answer and Counterclaim; Plaintiff's Motion to Dismiss Defendants' Counterclaim; Plaintiff's Motion to Strike Defendants' Affirmative Defenses ("Mot. to Strike”); Plaintiff's Crossclaim; Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment and Opposition to Plaintiff's Motions to Strike and Dismiss ("Mot.”); Plaintiff's Memorandum in Opposition to Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment ("Opp.”); Defendants’ Memorandum in Reply to Plaintiff's Opposition; the United States’ Supplemental Brief; and Plaintiff's Supplemental Brief.