Buck v. United States

756 F. Supp. 1014, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2392, 1991 WL 26109
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedFebruary 28, 1991
DocketCiv. A. No. G-90-249
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 756 F. Supp. 1014 (Buck v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Buck v. United States, 756 F. Supp. 1014, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2392, 1991 WL 26109 (S.D. Tex. 1991).

Opinion

FINAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT

KENT, District Judge.

Pending before the Court is the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss or for Summary [1015]*1015Judgment (Instrument # 5), filed December 4, 1990. The Court is of the opinion that this Motion should be and hereby is GRANTED for reasons set forth below.

The Facts

The Plaintiffs in this case are husband and wife and are United States citizens. On or about October 31, 1989, the Defendant United States sent the Plaintiffs a letter threatening them with criminal prosecution under 26 U.S.C. § 7203 for willful failure to file a return. For the tax year 1988, the Plaintiffs had not signed their tax return, instead, in the signature block they indicated “Fifth Amendment.”

When the Plaintiffs failed to file a proper return within the specified time limit, the Defendant then assessed a penalty of $500 pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 6702 against the Plaintiffs. The Plaintiffs paid 15% ($75) of the penalty assessed and then filed for a refund and abatement. After their claim had been denied, the Plaintiffs then filed suit in this Court as is their right.

The basis of this suit is that the Plaintiffs failed to sign their IRS 1040 return for the tax year 1988. They allegedly based that decision upon the receipt of legal opinions from several attorneys who informed them that they could not sign a 1040 return form without waiving their Fifth Amendment rights.

The Plaintiffs, classifying themselves as “nontaxpayers,” claim the statute "... is unconstitutional, or that its use is improper and illegal as applied to them. They also claim that the use of these statutes violates their rights to due process of law, penalizes Plaintiffs’ right under the First Amendment to maintain a free conscience as to their beliefs, violates their right to be secure in their persons, house, papers and effects as provided by the Fourth Amendment, and violates their Fifth Amendment right not to be compelled to condemn themselves or to incriminate themselves.” (Instr. # 1).

Summary Judgment

Summary judgment is proper where no genuine issue as to any material fact exists. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c) provides that summary judgment “shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” The Supreme Court has clearly stated that there is no genuine issue of fact where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). In Leonard v. Dixie Well Service & Supply, Inc., 828 F.2d 291, 294 (5th Cir.1987), the court, quoting from Matsushita, supra, and Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2553, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986), declared:

“... once the movant has informed the district court of the basis of its motion and identified those portions of the record which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact, the burden shifts to the non-movant to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. A sufficient showing cannot rest on mere allegation or denials in the pleadings, but must set forth specific facts that establish an issue for trial.”

Facts are material for summary judgment purposes where they constitute a legal defense, or their existence or nonexistence might affect the result of the action, or when resolution of issues they raise is so essential that the party against whom it is decided cannot prevail. Odom v. Tripp, 575 F.Supp. 1491 (D.C.Mo.1983).

The Supreme Court directs a judge when ruling on a summary judgment motion to believe the evidence of a non-moving party and to draw all justifiable inferences in his favor. Credibility determinations are to be left to the trier of fact. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2513, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A judge may assess the persuasiveness of the evidence and may discount unpersuasive evi[1016]*1016dence as unspecific or immaterial, but not unbelievable. Leonard, 828 F.2d at 294. “The inquiry performed is the threshold inquiry of determining whether there is the need for a trial — whether, in other words, there are any genuine factual issues that properly can be resolved only by a finder of fact because they may reasonably be resolved in favor of either party.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. at 2511.

Statutory Authority

The Internal Revenue Service assessed a penalty against these Plaintiff-taxpayers in accordance with 26 U.S.C. § 6702 which governs the filing of frivolous tax returns. 26 U.S.C. § 6702(a) provides for “(a) a civil penalty if:

(1) any individual files what purports to be a return of the tax imposed by subtitle A but which—
(A) does not contain information on which the substantial correctness of the self-assessment may be judged, or
(B) contains information that on its face indicates that the self-assessment is substantially incorrect; and
(2) the conduct referred to in paragraph (1) is due to—
(A) a position which is frivolous, or
(B) a desire (which appears on the purported return) to delay or impede the administration of Federal income tax laws,

then such individual shall pay a penalty of $500.”

While this Court genuinely sympathizes with the predicament the Plaintiffs find themselves in given their stated personal philosophy, nevertheless, it believes this case is clearly governed by the Fifth Circuit’s ruling in Mosher v. Internal Revenue Service, 775 F.2d 1292 (5th Cir.1985) cert. denied 475 U.S. 1123, 106 S.Ct. 1645, 90 L.Ed.2d 189 (1986), and that summary judgment for the Defendant is consequently proper.

Mosher did not dispute that he was required to file an income tax return or that he was a taxpayer. In the instant case, the Plaintiffs dispute that they are even taxpayers.

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Bluebook (online)
756 F. Supp. 1014, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2392, 1991 WL 26109, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/buck-v-united-states-txsd-1991.