Leprino Foods Co. v. United States

105 F. Supp. 2d 1161, 85 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1729, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4443, 2000 WL 702192
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedMarch 13, 2000
DocketCIV. A. 99-B-974
StatusPublished

This text of 105 F. Supp. 2d 1161 (Leprino Foods Co. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Leprino Foods Co. v. United States, 105 F. Supp. 2d 1161, 85 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1729, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4443, 2000 WL 702192 (D. Colo. 2000).

Opinion

ORDER

BABCOCK, District Judge.

Defendant moves pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) to dismiss plaintiffs complaint. The motion is adequately briefed and oral argument will not materially aid its resolution. For the reasons set forth below, I grant the motion. Jurisdiction exists under 28 U.S.C. § 1381.

I.

Because the Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.) treated Plaintiff as an S corporation for the 1993 tax year, and Plaintiff elected to use a November 1 to October 31 fiscal year as its tax year, 26 U.S.C. § 7519 (1993) required Plaintiff to submit a “required payment” of $1,797,004 to the I.R.S. by May 16, 1994. Plaintiff did not make its “required payment” until May 23, 1994. Sometime thereafter, Defendant assessed Plaintiff a late payment penalty of ten percent, or $179,700.40, pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 7519(f)(4)(A). Plaintiff paid the penalty plus $18,267.54 in interest.

On March 28, 1997, Plaintiff filed an administrative claim for refund with the I.R.S. contending both that the version of 26 U.S.C. § 7519(f)(4)(A) in effect in 1993 contained a “reasonable cause” exception to the penalty, and that its failure to submit its “required payment” was excused by “reasonable cause.” On June 5, 1997, Defendant rejected Plaintiffs administrative claim. On May 21, 1999, Plaintiff filed this suit.

II.

Rule 12(b)(6) states that a court may dismiss a complaint for “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” The complaint should not be dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6) “unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief.” Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957) (footnote omitted); accord Meade v. Grubbs, 841 F.2d 1512, 1526 (10th Cir.1988). In reviewing the sufficiency of the complaint, a court must presume that the plaintiffs factual allegations are true and construe them in a light most favorable to the plaintiff. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974), overruled on other grounds by Davis v. Scherer, 468 U.S. 183, 104 S.Ct. 3012, 82 L.Ed.2d 139 (1984); accord Meade, 841 F.2d at 1526.

12(b)(6) must be read in conjunction with Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a), which requires “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” The statement need not contain detailed facts, but it “must give the defendant fair notice of what the plaintiffs claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Conley, 355 U.S. at 47, 78 S.Ct. 99. A plaintiff is not required to state precisely each element of the claim. 5 Charles A. Wright and Arthur R. Miller, FEDERAL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE § 1216, at 154-159 (1990). Nonetheless, a plaintiff must “set forth factual allegations, either direct or inferential, respecting each material element necessary to sustain recovery under some actionable legal theory.” Gooley v. Mobil Oil Corp., 851 F.2d 513, 515 (1st Cir.1988). A court may not assume that a plaintiff can prove facts that it has not alleged, or that the defendant has violated laws in ways that plaintiff has not alleged. Associated General Contractors of California, Inc. v. California State Council of Carpenters, 459 U.S. 519, 526, 103 S.Ct. 897, 74 L.Ed.2d 723 (1983).

III.

Defendant argues that the version of 26 U.S.C. § 7519(f)(4)(A) in effect in 1993 does not contain a “reasonable cause” ex *1163 ception to the ten percent penalty for late “required payments.” Plaintiff responds that because the 1993 version of 26 U.S.C. § 7519(f)(1) references subtitle C, and because 26 U.S.C. § 6656 is the penalty provision for late payments under subtitle C, and contains a “reasonable cause” exception, Congress must have intended 26 U.S.C. § 7519(f)(4)(A) (1993) to include a “reasonable cause” exception as well. I disagree.

“The starting point in any case involving statutory construction is the language of the statute itself. When the terms of the statute are clear and unambiguous, that language is controlling absent rare and exceptional circumstances.” True Oil Co. v. C.I.R., 170 F.3d 1294, 1299 (10th Cir.1999) (quoting Ramah Navajo Chapter v. Lujan, 112 F.3d 1455, 1460 (10th Cir.1997) (citation and quotation omitted)). I must, however, examine the disputed language of a statute in context, not in isolation. Consequently, I “look to the particular statutory language at issue, as well as the language and design of the statute as a whole.” K Mart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc., 486 U.S. 281, 291, 108 S.Ct. 1811, 100 L.Ed.2d 313 (1988).

The 1993 version of 26 U.S.C. § 7519(f)(4)(A) states:

In the case of any failure by any person to pay on the date prescribed therefor any amount required by this section, there shall be imposed on such person a penalty of 10 percent of the underpayment. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term “underpayment” means the excess of the amount of the payment required under this section over the amount (if any) of such payment paid on or before the date prescribed therefor.

26 U.S.C. § 7519(f)(4)(A) (1993). As is clear from the text, the penalty provision of the 1993 version of Section 7519 does not contain a “reasonable cause” exception.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Conley v. Gibson
355 U.S. 41 (Supreme Court, 1957)
Scheuer v. Rhodes
416 U.S. 232 (Supreme Court, 1974)
Davis v. Scherer
468 U.S. 183 (Supreme Court, 1984)
K Mart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc.
486 U.S. 281 (Supreme Court, 1988)
True Oil Co. v. Commissioner
170 F.3d 1294 (Tenth Circuit, 1999)
William R. Gooley v. Mobil Oil Corporation
851 F.2d 513 (First Circuit, 1988)
Ramah Navajo Chapter v. Lujan
112 F.3d 1455 (Tenth Circuit, 1997)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
105 F. Supp. 2d 1161, 85 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1729, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4443, 2000 WL 702192, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/leprino-foods-co-v-united-states-cod-2000.