Crisp v. United States

966 F. Supp. 973, 80 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5034, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8563, 1997 WL 309550
District Court, E.D. California·Decided May 20, 1997·No. No. CV-F-96-6308 OWW SMS·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER RE: SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORITY SUBMITTED ON JURISDICTION TO HEAR CONVERSION-TYPE CLAIM; MOTION FOR LEAVE TO ADD NEW PARTIES

WANGER, District Judge.

I.INTRODUCTION

On December 4, 1996, Plaintiffs Gilbert Mark Crisp and Rhonda Crisp (“the Crisps”) filed a complaint against the government, alleging that the government has no valid lien claims against them based on income tax deficiencies. In a Memorandum Opinion filed on February 25, 1997, the government’s motion to dismiss was granted with leave to amend. The Opinion asked for supplemental authority regarding subject matter jurisdiction over the government for the Crisps’ conversion-type claim. The Crisps and the. government have submitted supplemental authority.

The Crisps have also filed a motion for leave to add new parties; the government opposes this motion.

II.BACKGROUND

The Crisps timely filed federal income tax returns for the calendar years 1988 and 1989. On April 6, 1995, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued the Crisps a notice of deficiency pertaining to 1988 and 1989, alleging additional amounts were owed for those years. On June 17,1996, the IRS recorded a federal tax lien with the Tulare County Recorder against the Crisps’ property. On October 25, 1996, the IRS seized 792 shares of stock belonging to Rhonda Crisp to satisfy the alleged 1988 and 1989 tax claims. The IRS auctioned the stock on December 3, 1996. The Crisps filed suit on December 4, 1996.

III.12(b)(1) STANDARD

A motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) addresses the court’s subject matter jurisdiction, derived from the Case or Controversy Clause of Article III of the U.S. Constitution. As federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, it is presumed that a case lies outside the jurisdiction of the federal courts unless proven otherwise. Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America, 511 U.S. 375, 376-78, 114 S.Ct. 1673, 1675, 128 L.Ed.2d 391 (1994). The plaintiff bears the burden of proof that jurisdiction exists. Thornhill Publishing Co. v. General Telephone & Electronics Corp., 594 F.2d 730, 733 (9th Cir.1979). Three different standards apply in the evaluation of a 12(b)(1) motion, depending upon how the motion is made and what it addresses.

First, the 12(b)(1) motion may attack the complaint on its face. Id.; Mortensen v. First Federal S & L Ass’n, 549 F.2d 884, 891 (3rd Cir.1977). In such an attack, “the court must consider the allegations of the complaint as true.” Mortensen, 549 F.2d at 891. The motion will be denied unless the allegations appear to be frivolous. See Black v. Payne, 591 F.2d 83, 86 n. 1 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 867, 100 S.Ct. 139, 62 L.Ed.2d 90 (1979).

Second, the 12(b)(1) motion may “attack the existence of subject matter jurisdiction in [975]*975fact, quite apart from any pleading.” Mortensen, 549 F.2d at 891. This type of attack is sometimes referred to as a “speaking motion.” See, e.g., Thornhill Publishing Co., 594 F.2d at 738. In making this second kind of 12(b)(1) motion, the defendant can “rely on affidavits or any other evidence properly before the court.” St. Clair v. City of Chico, 880 F.2d 199, 201 (9th Cir.) (citations omitted), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 993, 110 S.Ct. 541, 107 L.Ed.2d 539 (1989). “It then becomes necessary for the party opposing the motion to present affidavits or any other evidence necessary to satisfy its burden of establishing that the court, in fact, possesses subject matter jurisdiction.” Id.

Because at issue in a factual 12(b)(1) motion is the trial court’s jurisdiction — its very power to hear the case — there is substantial authority that the trial court is free to weigh the evidence and satisfy itself as to the existence of its power to hear the case. In short, no presumptive truthfulness attaches to plaintiffs allegations, and the existence of disputed material facts will not preclude the trial court from evaluating for itself the merits of jurisdictional claims. Moreover, the plaintiff will have the burden of proof that jurisdiction does in fact exist.

Mortensen, 549 F.2d at 891 (emphasis added).

Third, if consideration of the jurisdictional motion also involves factual issues that address the merits of the complaint, the moving party should prevail only if the material jurisdictional facts are not in dispute.and the moving party is entitled to prevail as a matter of law. Trentacosta v. Frontier Pacific Aircraft Industries, 813 F.2d 1553, 1557-58 (9th Cir.1987).1

IV. DISCUSSION

A. SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION OVER SALE OF STOCK

The government claims once it sold the stock on December 3,1996, it did not have a lien on the stock, and any waiver of sovereign immunity under 28 U.S.C. § 2410 would no longer apply. The Crisps respond that if the IRS liens were illegal, as they claim, then the stock auction by the government was also illegal.

As stated in the February 25, 1997 Opinion, the Crisps apparently are alleging the government converted their stock. The usual remedy for conversion is a claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”). See CHoPP Computer Corp. v. United States, 5 F.3d 1344, 1347 (9th Cir.1993), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 811, 115 S.Ct. 63, 130 L.Ed.2d 20 (1994). In their supplemental briefs, the Crisps and the government agree the FTCA does not waive sovereign immunity for any type of tax collection claim. See 28 U.S.C. § 2680(c). If the Crisps’ claim is characterized as a tax collection claim, the Court cannot hear the claim because of the government’s sovereign immunity.

The Crisps attempt to recharacterize the claim as a quiet title claim, basing jurisdiction on 28 U.S.C. § 2410. Section 2410 states in- relevant part: “the United States may be named a party in any civil action or suit in any district court ... to quiet title ... real or personal property on which the United States has or claims a mortgage or other lien.” If the property in which the government claims a lien has been sold before the suit is commenced, a district court has no jurisdiction over the property under § 2410. Powelson v. United States, 979 F.2d 141, 145 (9th Cir.1992), cert. denied, 507 U.S. 1029, 113 S.Ct.

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Crisp v. United States, 966 F. Supp. 973, 80 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5034, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8563, 1997 WL 309550 (E.D. Cal. 1997).

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