In Re Madden

388 F. Supp. 47
CourtDistrict Court, D. Idaho
DecidedJanuary 24, 1975
DocketBK-70-512
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 388 F. Supp. 47 (In Re Madden) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Idaho primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Madden, 388 F. Supp. 47 (D. Idaho 1975).

Opinion

388 F.Supp. 47 (1975)

In the Matter of Randall Lee MADDEN, Bankrupt.
William B. RAWLINGS, Trustee for the Estate of Randall Lee Madden, Plaintiff,
v.
UNITED STATES of America and William Simon, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States of America, Defendant.

No. BK-70-512.

United States District Court, D. Idaho.

January 24, 1975.

*48 R. Michael Southcombe, Clemons, Cosho, Humphrey & Samuelsen, Boise, Idaho, for plaintiff.

Dan E. Dennis, Asst. U. S. Atty., Boise, Idaho, for defendant.

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER

J. BLAINE ANDERSON, District Judge.

CASE SUMMARY

This action is an appeal pursuant to 11 U.S.C.A. § 67(c) by the United States, Appellant, from an order of the Bankruptcy Judge entered July 12, 1974, denying Appellant's motion to dismiss trustee's-appellee's complaint for turnover a dividend previously and erroneously paid to the United States, in a Chapter XI proceeding under the Bankruptcy Act, 11 U.S.C.A. § 701 et seq. The issue before this Court is whether or not the Bankruptcy Court had summary jurisdiction to decide if a dividend previously paid to the United States to satisfy its tax claim for Withholding and F.I.C.A. taxes may be recovered by the trustee, pursuant to Section 57(l) of the Bankruptcy Act, 11 U.S.C.A. § 93(l). The Bankruptcy Court has summary jurisdiction to entertain this proceeding and to enter a turn-over order, and therefore denial of the appellant's motion to dismiss is affirmed.

FACTS

The facts in this matter are undisputed and are recounted below as derived from the record furnished for this appeal.

On June 12, 1970, the bankrupt, Randall Lee Madden, filed his petition for arrangement under Chapter XI of the Bankruptcy Act, supra. On July 27, 1970, the United States filed its proof of claim in the Chapter XI proceeding. The United States on October 28, 1970, filed its claim for taxes incurred as administrative expenses by the debtor in possession during the Chapter XI proceeding. These Withholding — F.I.C.A. taxes in the amount of $1,019.11, along with Federal Highway Use taxes in the amount of $350.90, were paid by the trustee on April 27, 1972.

The trustee thereafter redetermined payments to the United States and filed a complaint on May 21, 1974, against the United States to obtain a turn-over of sums previously paid out as dividends to satisfy the tax claims of the United States. The trustee sought the turn-over order on grounds that he had erroneously paid the dividends, having determined that the sums paid should not have been based upon the priority and position of the United States in regard to other creditors. The United States filed a motion to dismiss the complaint for turn-over on the basis that the bankruptcy court did not have jurisdiction *49 The Bankruptcy Judge denied the government's motion to dismiss on the ground that the trustee's proceeding was not an action to recover a tax alleged to have been erroneously or illegally assessed or collected or any penalty claimed to have been collected without authority or any sum to have been alleged to have been excessive [and] in any manner wrongfully collected under the Internal Revenue laws, but rather was an action to recover a bankruptcy dividend erroneously paid by the trustee, of which the United States District Court, acting through its Bankruptcy Judge, had express summary jurisdiction under Section 57(l) of the Bankruptcy Act, 11 U.S.C.A. § 93(l). Final order was entered July 12, 1974.

I.

For purposes of this appeal, the United States admits that, with respect to the trustee's complaint for turn-over of the previously paid highway use taxes, pursuant to the proof of claim filed by the United States, the Bankruptcy Court had jurisdiction. However, the United States contends that the Bankruptcy Court did not have jurisdiction to determine the trustee's complaint for turnover of the amounts paid in satisfaction of the liability for Withholding and F.I. C.A. taxes incurred by the debtor in possession during the Chapter XI proceedings.

The United States relies on Section 23(b) of the Bankruptcy Act,[1] 11 U.S. C.A. § 46(b) which essentially provides that a receiver or trustee may only bring suit in the courts where the bankrupt might have brought or prosecuted them if the bankruptcy proceedings had not been instituted, unless the defendant consents to the suit under other sections of the Act. As a result, the United States asserts that the consent of the United States to be sued in an action to recover taxes alleged to have been wrongfully collected in any manner, and previously paid, is strictly controlled by statute, specifically Section 7422(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954,[2] 26 U.S. C.A. § 7422(a) and[3] 28 U.S.C.A. § 1346 (a)(1). Section 7422(a), supra, sets forth the prerequisite of filing a claim for refund with the Secretary [of the Treasury] or his delegate prior to filing suit under Section 1346(a)(1), supra. Accordingly, the United States argues that the trustee has failed to allege compliance with Section 7422(a), supra, and as a result, could not have maintained his suit for turn-over in the Bankruptcy Court, citing Flora v. United States, 362 U.S. 145, 80 S.Ct. 630, 4 L.Ed.2d 623 (1960); Lawrence v. United States, 378 F.2d 452 (5th Cir. 1967).

Furthermore, the United States argues that even had the trustee complied with this statute and filed in accordance with Section 7422(a), supra, and such claim having been rejected, the United States *50 submits that the proceeding to recover a previously paid dividend could not have been brought as a turn-over proceeding in the Bankruptcy Court. The United States argues that Section 1346(a)(1), supra, vests original jurisdiction in the District Courts for any civil action for the recovery of taxes alleged to have been erroneously paid. Therefore, the United States maintains that 28 U.S.C.A. § 1346 (a)(1), when read with Section 23(b) of the Bankruptcy Act, supra, requires that such suit by the trustee to recover a dividend previously distributed, must be brought as a refund suit in the District Court and not as a turn-over proceeding in the Bankruptcy Court. In conclusion, it is the position of the United States that the Bankruptcy Court lacked summary jurisdiction in the turn-over proceeding and even if the Bankruptcy Court had such jurisdiction, it was not proper on the facts of this case for failure to comply with Section 7422(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, supra.

II.

A bankruptcy court's summary jurisdiction is based upon either actual or constructive possession of the bankrupt's property, consent by the adverse claimant, or a determination that the adverse claim is merely colorable and not real and substantial. Harrison v. Chamberlain, 271 U.S. 191, 193-194, 46 S.Ct. 467, 70 L.Ed. 897 (1926); Brouner v. Seligson, 416 F.2d 705 (2nd Cir. 1969). Summary jurisdiction to adjudicate claims to all property that is in the bankrupt's physical possession exists, notwithstanding the fact that legal title rests in a third party. Kapelus v. A Joint Venture, 377 F.2d 815, 816 (9th Cir.

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388 F. Supp. 47, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-madden-idd-1975.