Huard-Steinheiser, Inc. v. George A. Henry, Supervisor in Charge, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Unit

280 F.2d 79, 5 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 2103, 1960 U.S. App. LEXIS 4241
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedJune 17, 1960
Docket14001
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 280 F.2d 79 (Huard-Steinheiser, Inc. v. George A. Henry, Supervisor in Charge, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Unit) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Huard-Steinheiser, Inc. v. George A. Henry, Supervisor in Charge, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Unit, 280 F.2d 79, 5 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 2103, 1960 U.S. App. LEXIS 4241 (6th Cir. 1960).

Opinions

MARTIN, Circuit Judge.

The issue on this appeal is whether or not the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan abused its discretion when it refused to grant a temporary injunction to restrain the Supervisor in Charge of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Unit in Detroit, Michigan, from enforcing letters which demanded that the appellant’s incorporated wholesale grocery file information reports concerning the sale at its place of business of sugar, rye and cracked corn. The action of the appellee supervisor was taken under authority of Federal Regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury, adopted pursuant to section 5213(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, revised by section 5291, I.R.C. [P.L. 85-859, Title II, § 201 (1958), 72 Stat. 1373], 26 U.S.C.A. § 5291.1

The regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the Treasury, through his delegate [20 F.R. 4818 (July 6, 1955), amending 20 C.F.R., section 173.10] provided, in effect, that the appellant, who falls within the coverage of the regulations, should mate a detailed report to the Internal Revenue Service of every sale of sugar and cracked corn of 100 pounds, or more, and of every sale of rye of 200 pounds, or more, except sales made to local trade buyers by delivery at their places of business. The demand letters required that such reports must include the name and address of the purchaser, the automobile registration number of the vehicle used by him, and the number and date of issuance of his operator’s license. The basis for the action filed by appellant in the district court is that the foregoing demand letters and the regulations authorizing them are invalid as applied to appellant, for the reason that they are beyond the authority granted to the Secretary of the Treasury, or his delegate, by the aforesaid section 5213(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 [Revised section 5291]; and for the further reason that the letters and regulations promulgated pursuant to statutory authority of the code section constituted a means of depriving appellant of property in violation of the Fifth Amendment to our national Constitution.

Appellant alleges that enforcement of the demand letters would cause irreparable injury to its business. It avers that its annual business aggregated one and three-fourths million dollars in 1958: all of which sales were made by delivery to known trade buyers at their places of business, with the exception of $330,000. $300,000 of the $330,000 in sales was made to known trade buyers who picked up the merchandise at appellant’s place of business; and the remaining $30,000 in sales was said to have been made to known customers, who also picked up the merchandise at appellant’s place of business.

[82]*82A known trade buyer is one who operates a retail store, such as a grocery store, and purchases the commodity for resale. Appellant avers that the requirement of making the foregoing reports would be-costly and burdensome, that it would be discriminatory against it in view of the fact that most of its competitors were not required to make such reports ; and that it will suffer irreparable injury if a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the letters is not issued pending a trial on the merits. It insists that its legal rights have been invaded by the' issuance of the demand letters; that the regulations, as applied to it, are void because in excess of authority granted by the statute; that the regulations are arbitrary and capricious; and that they are violative of the Fifth Amendment.

Appellant thus states its exact position: “The appeal in the present case has not attacked the statute, but has assumed that it is constitutional. It has taken the position that the regulation and demand letter issued pursuant thereto are as against the appellant, in violation of the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Federal Constitution.”

The further argument is made that the district court erred in failing to make findings of fact and conclusions of law as a basis for its refusal to grant the preliminary injunction in the case. The prayer of appellant is that the order of the district court denying its motion for a preliminary injunction be set aside and that the case be remanded with instructions that a preliminary injunction be entered pending a trial on the merits; or, in the alternative, that the district court grant appellant a new hearing on its motion for a preliminary injunction, and thereafter enter findings of-fact and conclusions of law in support of its decision on the motion.

We are of opinion that appellant is not entitled to the relief prayed on either of its stated grounds, or on any ground. We find no abuse of discretion by the district court in refusing to grant a preliminary injunction to restrain the appellee Supervisor from enforcing the demand letters requiring appellant to file the prescribed information reports concerning sales, at its place of business, of sugar, rye and cracked corn in the quantities specified.

It appears that nothing new has been presented in this appeal. The issues raised by appellant have been determined against it long ago. More than twenty-six years ago, this court .upheld regulations (similar to those here involved) which required wholesale and retail grocers to report to the Internal Revenue Commissioner their sales of sugar, the regulations having been promulgated pursuant to the statute requiring information concerning the disposition made of substances used in the manufacture of distilled. spirits. DiSanto v. United States, 6 Cir., 93 F.2d 948, 950, certiorari denied 303 U.S. 662, 58 S.Ct. 829, 82 L.Ed. 1121. Neither the statute nor the regulation was found to violate the Constitution of the United States. Moreover, the matter of discrimination was not deemed consequential. Speaking for this court, Judge Hicks said: “The necessity and propriety of empowering the Commissioner to require one dealer to make returns without requiring the same duty of all was a matter for Congress to determine [citing Supreme Court opinion]. There was a substantial basis for it * * * The regulations did not disturb any property right of appellant, and the provision in the act that their violation subjected him to fine and imprisonment did not affect its constitutionality. U. S. v. Grimaud, supra, 220 U.S. 506, at page 517, 31 S.Ct. 480, 55 L.Ed. 563. Our conclusion is in accord with United States v. Goldsmith et al., 2 Cir., 91 F.2d 983; Dano v. United States, 3 Cir., 91 F.2d 1012; and United States v. Turner Bros., D.C., 11 F.Supp. 908.”

United States District Judge West, whose judgment in the DiSanto case was affirmed [6 Cir., 93 F.2d 948, 950], said [D.C.N.D.Ohio, 20 F.Supp. 254, 255]:

“Legislative power is not improperly delegated to the Commission[83]*83er. True, he may or may not require a dealer in sugar, yeast, etc., to report his sales. The situation may well be such that instead of being fair, it would be quite unfair to treat all dealers alike in this respect. The Commissioner and his subordinates may be expected to have information on which to base discretionary action, and the regularity of his acts is to be presumed. United States v.

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Bluebook (online)
280 F.2d 79, 5 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 2103, 1960 U.S. App. LEXIS 4241, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/huard-steinheiser-inc-v-george-a-henry-supervisor-in-charge-alcohol-ca6-1960.