Ashby Funeral Home Inc v. Internal Revenue Service

• Court: District Court, E.D. Arkansas
• Decided: August 24, 2022
• Docket: 4:22-cv-00656
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS CENTRAL DIVISION ASHBY FUNERAL HOME, INC. PLAINTIFF v. CASE NO. 4:22-CV-00656-BSM INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE DEFENDANT/GARNISHEE v. PAULA MCCLENDON DEFENDANT

ORDER Ashby Funeral Home, Inc. is attempting to collect a judgment against Paula McClendon by serving a garnishment on the Internal Revenue Service. Doc. No. 1. The IRS’s motion to dismiss [Doc. No. 4] is granted because it is immune from suit and this court lacks subject matter jurisdiction. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1); Moss v. United States, 895 F.3d

1091, 1097 (8th Cir. 2018); see Osborn v. United States, 918 F.2d 724, 729 n. 6 (8th Cir. 1990) (dismissal is appropriate based solely on the allegations in the pleadings when plaintiff cannot show any set of facts that would entitle it to the relief it seeks). Sovereign immunity shields the United States and its agencies from suit unless the

United States clearly waives immunity. F.D.I.C. v. Meyer, 510 U.S. 471, 475 (1994); United States v. White Mountain Apache Tribe, 537 U.S. 465, 472 (2003). District courts have no subject matter jurisdiction unless the United States waives immunity, and the plaintiff has the burden of proving waiver. Meyer, 510 U.S. at 475; Robinson v. United States Dep’t of Educ., 917 F.3d 799, 802 (4th Cir. 2019). Ashby Funeral Home has not shown that Congress waived immunity in garnishments similar to the one at issue. Indeed, it does not refute the IRS’s contention that the only garnishment cases in which immunity has been waived are those involving child support and alimony. Def.’s Br. Supp. Mot. Dismiss at 7 (citing 42 U.S.C. § 659), Doc. No. 5. Moreover, an independent review of the caselaw has failed to locate any authority that contradicts the IRS’s position. IT IS SO ORDERED this 24th day of August, 2022.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE