United States v. Neil T. NordbrockUnited States v. Neil T. Nordbrock
Opinion by Judge LETTS
I. OVERVIEW
Neil T. Nordbroek’s (“Nordbrock”) failure to turn over requested tax returns or taxpayer information to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) resulted in an IRS assessment of $75,000 against Nordbrock and a lifetime injunction prohibiting him from preparing tax returns for others. Nordbrock now appeals from the district court’s judgment for the Government on his claim for a refund of the small portion of the assessment which he actually paid and on the Government’s counterclaim for the balance of the assessment. Nordbrock also appeals from the lifetime injunction.
Nordbrock alleges four grounds for reversing the district court’s judgment. First, Nordbrock argues that the district court erred in instructing the jury that Nordbrock bore the burden of proving reasonable cause for his failure to produce the requested information, rather than that the Government bore the burden of proving that Nordbrock willfully refused production. Second, Nord-brock argues that there was insufficient evidence to support the jury’s verdict. Third,
We have jurisdiction pursuant to
II. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
A. The First Trials and Consolidated Appeal
In 1982, Nordbrock testified in criminal proceedings against accountant Karl Dahlst-rom. Shortly thereafter, IRS agent Sharon Bennett (“Bennett”) requested, pursuant to
Nоrdbrock consulted attorney Donald MacPherson, a certified criminal tax expert, who had represented accountant Dahlstrom in Dahlstrom’s prosecution. Nordbrock subsequently provided to the IRS a document with the necessary information redacted. Nordbrock also objected to the request under the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and asked for act of production immunity pursuant to
After several years of actively pursuing its request, the IRS assessed penalties of $75,-000 against Nordbrock for his failure to comply. Nordbrock paid $250 of this assessment and requested that the balance be abated and his payment refunded. The IRS denied this request.
In August of 1983, the IRS brought an action in the district court to enjoin Nord-brock from withholding the requested information. That case was assigned to Judge William D. Browning. In July of 1985, the district court granted the Government’s motion for summary judgment, ordered Nord-brock to provide the requested information to the IRS, and enjoined Nordbrock from preparing tax returns for other taxpayers. Nordbrock complied by giving a client list to the IRS and closing down his tax return preparation business.
In December of 1983, Nordbrock filed a separate action in the district court praying for a refund of the $250 he had paid and an abatement of the balance of the assessment. That ease was assigned to Judge Robert C. Broomfield. Thе Government filed a counterclaim for the $74,750 balance of the assessment. Judge Broomfield disposed of Nordbrock’s action by granting summary judgment for the Government. Essential to this disposition was Judge Broomfield’s giving res judicata effect to Judge Browning’s finding that Nordbrock willfully had failed to provide the requested information to the IRS in the injunction action.
These two actions were consolidated on appeal, and both were reversed. We held that Nordbrock had defеated summary judg
B. The Second Trial and Appeal
On remand, the refund and injunction actions again were consolidated. The district court denied Nordbroek’s request for a jury trial and found that Nordbrock’s failure to turn over the requested information was willful. The district court then enjоined Nord-brock from preparing tax returns and sustained the $75,000 IRS assessment.
See United States v. Nordbrock,
We again reversed, holding that the district court should have granted Nordbrock’s request for a jury trial. We did not reach the question of which party bore the burden of proving willfulness or lack thereof.
See United States v. Nordbrock,
C. The Third Trial
1. Willfulness
On remand, Nordbrock moved for a directed verdict at the close of the case, arguing that no reasonable jury could find willfulness on his part by a preponderance of the evidence. The district court agreed that the evidence could not meet a preponderance standard with the burden on the Government. However, the district court ruled that under the relevant provision of the Internal Revenue Code,
The issue of willfulness was presented to the jury and decided in favor of the Government. The jury found that Nordbrock had not acted in good faith and willfully had failed to comply with the law. A lifetime injunction was entered on the basis of that verdict. The district court also entered judgment in favor of the Government on Nord-brock’s claim for a refund, but did not enter judgment on the Government’s counterclaim for the $74,750 remainder of Nordbroek’s assessment.
2. Statutory Basis for Assessments
At the pre-trial hearing on remand, Nord-brock claimed that the assessments against him were invalid because they were brought under the wrong Internal Revenue Code sections. Specifically, the IRS brought the assessments under
On the last day of the trial, in response to an earlier request, the IRS produced a so-called “Non-Master File Transcript” dated before the trial, which indicated that the assessments in fact had been brought under
In October of 1992, the district court denied Nordbrock’s post-trial motions and found that many documents similar to the Non-Master File Transcript were in Nord-brock’s possession at the time of trial. The district court ruled that if the assessments were valid under any one of the three provisions, they were valid as a matter of law. The district court then concluded that the assessments were valid under
III. DISCUSSION
A. The District Court Did Not Err in Requiring Nordbrock to Prove His Lack of Willfulness
Nordbrock argues that the district court should have required the Government to prove that Nordbrock’s failure to comply with the IRS’s request was willful, instead of requiring Nordbrock to prove that his failure was not willful. Nordbrock then argues that if the correct burden of proof were applied,
We review questions of law
de novo, 999 v. C.I.T. Corp.,
We hold that
Any person who is an income tax return рreparer with respect to any return or claim for refund who fails to comply withsection 6107(b) [requiring compliance with I.R.S. information requests] with respect to such return or claim shall pay a penalty of $50 for each such failure, unless it is shown that such failure is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect. The maximum penalty imposed under this subsection on any person with respect to any return period shall not exceed $25,000.
We generally adhere to the maxim of statutory construction that similar terms appearing in different sections of a statute should receive the same interpretation.
Firestone v. Howerton,
Nordbrock argues that our decision in
Nordbrock I
requires us to place the burden on the Government to prove willfulness. He asserts that our statement in
Nordbrock I
that “willfulness is an essential element of a section 7407(b) injunction action” constitutes law of the case and places the burden on the Government to prove willfulness.
See Nordbrock I,
First,
Nordbrock I
simply does not address the allocation of the burden of proof. We held in
Nordbrock I
that willfulness is an essential element of an injunction action under § 7404(b). We reasoned that conduct could not be enjoined under § 7404(b) unless it was “subject to a penalty” under
Second, Nordbrock misinterprets our analogy to two other Revenue Code sections. We explained in
Nordbrock I
that our conclusion that § 7404(b) incorporated the willful
B. The Evidence Supported the Jury’s Verdict
We now consider Nordbrock’s argument that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury’s verdict. We must let the jury’s verdict stand if we find that it is supported by “substantial evidence.” Substantial evidence is evidence which reasonable minds might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.
Davis v. Mason County,
With the burden on this issue allocated to Nordbrock, we find that ample evidence supported the jury’s verdict. The following evidence was introduced at trial:
(1) Testimony by Nordbrock that he did not want to produce a client list because he feared that ensuing audits of his clients would destroy his business;
(2) Testimony that Nordbroek’s attorney, MacPherson, told Nordbrock that MacPher-son could not give advice regarding the returns of certain clients without prior examination;
(3) Testimony by MacPherson that he did not examine these returns; and
(4) Testimony that MacPherson advised Nordbrock not to produce any information, even though MacPherson did not believe that there was incriminating information in the returns which he had not examined.
Because a jury could permissibly find from this evidence that Nordbrock had not relied upon his attorney’s advice in good faith, we affirm the jury’s verdict for the Government on the issue of Nordbrock’s willfulness.
C. There Was No Reversible Error in the Jury Instructions
Nordbrock argues that some jury instructions shifted the burden of persuasion from the Government to the defense. He also argues that some jury instructions removed the issue of willfulness from the jury entirely.
We review jury instructions for an abuse of discretion by examining “whether or not the instructions taken as а whole were misleading or represented a statement inadequate to guide the jury’s deliberations.”
United States v. Kessi,
We find no reversible error in the jury instructions. Because we place the burden of proof as to willfulness on Nordbrock, we find that the jury instructions were accurate to the extent that they too, allocated that burden to him.
Nordbrock argues that the instructions also took from the jury the job of determining his willfulness, which was an essential element of the Government’s case. Nord-brock points to Instruction No. 11 which stated in part: “The issue here is not whether Mr. Nordbrock had the right to withhold that information from the Internal Revenue Service,
which he did not,
but whether Mr. Nordbrock’s refusal to provide that information was due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect.” (Emphasis added). Nordbrock claims that by telling the jury that he had “no right” to withhold the information and by refusing to instruct on the subjective standard for willfulness set forth in
Cheek v. United States,
We disagree with Nordbrock, noting the following excerpt from the instructions:
If you find that Mr. Nordbrock honestly and in good faith sought the advice of anattorney as to what he may lawfully do in the matter of responding to Revenue Agent Bennett’s request, and fully and honestly laid all the facts before his counsel, and in good faith followed such advice and relied upon it believing it to be correct, and only intended that his acts should be lawful, you may not find him willful, even if the advice given by the attorney was an inaccurate construction of the law.
This instruction, taken with the jury instructions as a whole, indicates that the issue of Nordbrock’s willfulness remained with the jury-
Nordbrock also argues that Instruction No. 10 erroneously stated that Nordbrock contended that “this law” was not applicable to him, rather than that this penalty was not applicable to him. Nordbrock contends that because he had never disputed that thе relevant code sections applied to him, and had only argued over whether the penalties applied this instruction was erroneous. We conclude that any error for using the word “law” was harmless when considered with the instructions as a whole.
Finally, Nordbrock argues that the court erred in failing to give an instruction reflecting the holding in
Swayze v. United States,
60 A.F.T.R.2d (P-11) 87-6031 (C.D.Cal.1987). This instruction would have stated that tax return preparers have widely divergent levels of sophistication, that Nоrd-brock was entitled, if not required, to obtain and rely on an attorney’s opinion for responding to Revenue Agent Bennett’s request and that Nordbrock enjoys lay status in relation to the profession of an attorney. Nordbrock cites
Underhill v. Royal,
Nordbrock’s reliance on these cases is misplaced.
C.I.T. Corp.
merely states that the failure to give a requested instruction is a question of lаw reviewable
de novo. 999 v. C.I.T. Corp.,
D. The District Court Did Not Err in Ruling that the Government Had Proved the Essential Prerequisites for a Lifetime Injunction
Nordbrock argues that the Government failed to prove the essential elements for a lifetime injunction prohibiting him from preparing tax returns for others, as set forth in
If the court finds thаt an income tax return preparer has continually or repeatedly engaged in any conduct [prohibited herein] and that an injunction prohibiting such conduct would not be sufficient to prevent such person’s interference with the proper administration of this title, the court may enjoin such person from acting as an income tax return preparer.
Nordbrock does not dispute that his conduct could be the subject of an injunction under this sеction, but he argues that it was improper to enjoin him for life under the circumstances of this case. He cites
United States v. Ernst & Whinney,
Nordbrock also cites the Post-Trial Order in
Ernst & Whinney,
in which the court held that
Furthermore, Nordbrock argues, an injunction against him is not appropriate to prevent the occurrеnce of the prohibited conduct, as required in
Ernst & Whinney.
Rather, he contends, the injunction serves only a punitive purpose in this case, contrary to the purpose of
Finally, Nordbrock cites
United States v. Franchi,
In Franchi, the Government introduced evidence of eighty-seven assessments against the defendant over an eight-year period for inflating and fabricating expenses and deductions on clients’ tax returns. Id. at 892. The Government also called a large number of witnesses who testified over four days about the defendant’s transgressions and the harm causеd. Id. at 893.
The Franchi court used four factors to determine whether to grant injunctive relief: (1) the threat of irreparable harm, (2) the balance between any irreparable harm and the injury to the enjoined tax preparer, (3) the probability of success on the merits, and (4) the public interest. Id. Even though all four factors were satisfied, the Franchi court only issued a preliminary injunction and declined to permanently deprive the defendant of his livelihood absent greater inquiry. Id. at 896.
As we are not bound by these out-of-circuit сases, we decline to follow
Ernst & Whinney
or
Franchi
to the extent that they are inconsistent with our holding. We agree with the Government that
We hold that where a tax return preparer does not comply with a demand for taxpayer information pursuant to
Nordbroek’s conduct satisfies this standard. Nordbrock did not comply with IRS agent Bennett’s request for over three years, from 1982 to 1985. When it becamе apparent that Nordbrock would not comply with the 1982 request, the Government took appropriate enforcement action in early 1983 by assessing $75,000 against him and suing for an injunction to force his compliance. Finally, even after the initiation of these lawsuits, Nordbrock refused to comply with the IRS’s request. Thus, we find no error in the district court’s imposition of the lifetime injunction.
E. The District Court Did Not Err in Denying Nordbrock’s Post-Trial Motions
Nordbrock argues that the district сourt erred in denying his motion for a new trial or for relief from judgment based on newly discovered evidence. He contends that the IRS never produced any evidence at trial that he had been assessed under
Moreover, Nordbrock’s position is untenable in light of the fact that in the Pretrial Order the parties stipulated that the IRS proposed to assess Nordbroek pursuant to
IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
AFFIRMED.
Notes
. The Government argues that we lack jurisdiction over Nordbrock's refund action because the district court failed to enter a final judgment on the Government’s counterclaim for the unpaid balance of the assessment.
See
Furthermore, we long have held that the absence of a separate form of judgment will not defeat jurisdiction where a party has timely filed a notice of appeal from a district court's final, entered order.
Allah v. Superior Court of State of Calif.,
.
E.g., Genesee Valley Gas Co. v. C.I.R.,