Estate of Reiserer v. United States

229 F.R.D. 172, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19676, 2005 WL 1491885
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Washington
DecidedMay 25, 2005
DocketNo. C04-0967-JCC
StatusPublished

This text of 229 F.R.D. 172 (Estate of Reiserer v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Estate of Reiserer v. United States, 229 F.R.D. 172, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19676, 2005 WL 1491885 (W.D. Wash. 2005).

Opinion

ORDER

COUGHENOUR, District Judge.

This matter has come before the Court on Petitioners’ motion to quash a third-party summons issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to the Bank of America. The motion was referred to the Honorable Mary Alice Theiler, United States Magistrate Judge, for consideration. A Report and Recommendation (“R & R”) (Dkt. No. 34) was duly issued, and objections filed (Dkt. No. 41).

Because the Court finds that the R & R has addressed and disposed of all of the arguments Petitioners raise in their objections, the Court hereby ADOPTS the R & R. The petition to quash is DENIED and Respondent’s motion for summary enforcement is GRANTED. The Clerk is directed to send copies of this Order to the parties and to Judge Theiler.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

THEILER, United States Magistrate Judge.

Petitioners have moved to quash a third-party summons issued by the Internal Revenue Service to Bank of America. (Dkt.l.) The Government responded by opposing the petition to quash and by moving for summary enforcement of the summons. (Dkt.21.) The Court, having considered the papers submitted in support of and in opposition to the petition, and having heard oral argument by the parties, recommends that the petition to quash be DENIED and that the Government’s motion for summary enforcement be GRANTED. The reasons for this recommendation are set forth below.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The petition to quash was filed on April 28, 2004, by Kenneth Reiserer and Reiserer & Agee, LLP. However, Mr. Reiserer died on July 12, 2004. The estate of Mr. Reiserer has been substituted in this action for Mr. Reiserer pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 25. (Dkt.18.)

Mr. Reiserer was an attorney licensed to practice in Washington and California. His practice included tax planning services. Petitioners allege that Mr. Reiserer practiced as a solo practitioner during various periods from 1980 through 1996 and after 1997. Petitioners also allege that Mr. Reiserer practiced as a partner with the law firm of Reiserer & Agee LLP during a period in 1996 and 1997. Petitioners state that the firm ceased operations in 1997 and that Mr. Reiserer was the sole successor in interest to the assets and liabilities of the firm.

This matter concerns a summons issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to Bank of America in April 2004. The summons directed the bank to provide documents and records relating to Mr. Reiserer, as well as documents and records relating to Reiserer & Agee and a number of additional entities allegedly linked to Mr. Reiserer.1 Among other items, the summons requested: (a) all documents and records of deposits, including all deposited items in amounts greater than $1,999.99; (b) all cancelled checks, drafts, and all other documents used to order payment from funds maintained in the accounts in amounts of more than $1,999.99; and (c) all other documents and records which in any manner evidence the transfer of any funds or securities into or out of the accounts in amounts greater than $1,999.99. The summons seeks documents and records from January 1,1993 to April 7, 2004.

The Government alleges that Mr. Reiserer was involved with an abusive tax arrangement known as an “offshore employee-leasing” (OEL) scheme. The Government alleges that OELs are often marketed to highly-paid professionals as a means of evading [175]*175taxes through a complicated series of steps involving domestic and foreign parties. The Government further alleges that Mr. Reiserer was an officer or director of several domestic leasing corporations involved in an OEL scheme. According to Revenue Agent Sue Ann Besson, Mr. Reiserer refused to provide the IRS with his customer list prior to his death. However, Ms. Besson states that her preliminary investigation into this matter indicates that Mr. Reiserer marketed OELs to at least 21 customers.2 Of those 21 customers, Ms. Besson maintains that several have been found to have substantially underreported income, ranging from $36,700 to $2,430,000 per year.

Although Mr. Reiserer died several months after the summons was issued, the Government states that it is continuing the investigation for purposes of determining whether penalties under sections 6700 or 6701 of the Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.)3 will be assessed against Mr. Reiserer’s estate. Sections 6700 and 6701 permit the Government to impose penalties for promoting abusive tax shelters and for aiding in the preparation or presentation of documents that result in an understatement of tax liability. The Government maintains that the summoned documents would assist in establishing the number of Mr. Reiserer’s customers who have used OELs, in identifying actual and potential customers to whom Mr. Reiserer may have made false statements during the course of promoting OELs, and in determining whether Mr. Reiserer otherwise advised or assisted customers to violate the internal revenue laws in violation of section 6701. The Government maintains that this information is necessary because potential penalties under the relevant statutes are based on the number of illegal schemes organized or sold and on the number of documents prepared or presented that result in an understatement of tax liability.

ANALYSIS

I.R.C. § 7602 provides the IRS with “wide latitude” to issue summons to obtain information necessary for investigative purposes. United States v. Jose, 131 F.3d 1325, 1327 (9th Cir.1997). To obtain enforcement of a summons, “the IRS need only demonstrate ‘good faith’ in issuing the summons.” Lidas, Inc. v. United States, 238 F.3d 1076, 1081-82 (9th Cir.2001). In United States v. Powell, 379 U.S. 48, 85 S.Ct. 248, 13 L.Ed.2d 112 (1964), the Supreme Court set forth the standards that the Government must satisfy in order to make a prima facie showing of good faith: (1) the investigation will be conducted pursuant to a legitimate purpose; (2) the inquiry may be relevant to the purpose; (3) the information sought is not already within the possession of the IRS Commissioner; and (4) the administrative steps required by the Internal Revenue Code have been followed. Id. at 57-58, 85 S.Ct. 248. “The government’s burden is a slight one, and may be satisfied by a declaration from the investigating agent that the Powell requirements have been met.” United States v. Dynavac, Inc., 6 F.3d 1407, 1414 (9th Cir.1993). Here, the Government makes its good-faith showing through the declaration of Revenue Agent Sue Besson (Dkt.22), the agent who issued the summons.

If the Government makes a prima facie showing of good faith, a taxpayer may challenge a summons on any appropriate grounds, including failure to satisfy the Powell requirements or abuse of the court’s process. Jose, 131 F.3d at 1328. However, the burden is on the taxpayer to rebut the presumption of good faith. Lidas, 238 F.3d at 1082. This burden is “a heavy one” and the taxpayer “must allege specific facts and evidence to support his allegations.” Liberty Fin. Sews. v.

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Bluebook (online)
229 F.R.D. 172, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19676, 2005 WL 1491885, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/estate-of-reiserer-v-united-states-wawd-2005.