Michael Tankersley v. James Almand

837 F.3d 390, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 16737, 2016 WL 4750603
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
DecidedSeptember 13, 2016
Docket15-1081
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 837 F.3d 390 (Michael Tankersley v. James Almand) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Michael Tankersley v. James Almand, 837 F.3d 390, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 16737, 2016 WL 4750603 (4th Cir. 2016).

Opinions

Affirmed by published opinion. Judge DIAZ wrote the opinion, in which Judge KING joined. Senior Judge DAVIS wrote an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part.

DIAZ, Circuit Judge:

All attorneys licensed in Maryland who are not permanently retired must pay an annual fee to the Client Protection Fund of the Bar of Maryland. In addition to paying the fee, Maryland attorneys must also disclose their social security numbers to the Fund. Relying on federal law, the Court of Appeals of Maryland enacted this particular mandate in support- of the state’s efforts to collect back taxes and past-due child-support payments from attorneys.

[393]*393The Court of Appeals suspended Michael Tankersley’s law license after he refused to provide his social security number to the Fund. In response, Tankersley sued the trustees of the Fund and the judges and the clerk of the Court of Appeals (the “Defendants”), all in their official capacities, seeking injunctive relief based on his claim that his suspension violated the federal Privacy Act. ' '

The district court granted the Defendants’ motion to dismiss. Because we find that federal law gives Maryland the power (acting through its agents) to compel the disclosure of social security numbers in this circumstance, we affirm.

I.

A.

The Court of Appeals of Maryland has the statutory power to “establish a Client Protection Fund of the Bar of Maryland,” in order “to maintain the, integrity of the legal profession by paying money to reimburse losses caused by defalcations of lawyers.” Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 10-311. As part of this principal mission, the Fund is also required by statute to “provide a list of lawyers who have paid an annual fee to the Fund during the previous fiscal year to ... the Comptroller, to assist the Comptroller in determining whether each lawyer on the list has paid all undisputed taxes.” Id. § 10-313(a). That list must include “the federal tax identification number of the person or, if the person does not have a federal tax identification number, the Social Security number of the person.” Id. § 10-313(b)(2)(ii).

In promulgating rules to enforce this statute, the Court of Appeals referenced the power given to the state by 42 U.S.C. § 405(c)(2)(C)(i). That provision was enacted as part of the Tax Reform Act of 1976, and it allows states to collect social security numbers for certain enumerated purposes, including the administration of tax laws.

The Court of Appeals also uses the Fund to comply with the Welfare Reform Act, 42 U.S.C. § 666, which Congress passed in 1996 to “increase the effectiveness of the [child support enforcement] program which the State administers.” Id. § 666(a). To that end, the Welfare Reform Act conditions federal funding on states’ having in effect “[procedures requiring that the social security number of ... any applicant for a professional license .... be recorded on the application.” Id. § 666(a)(13).

In 1997, the Maryland General Assembly passed a series of statutes to comply with the Welfare Reform Act, including Family Law section 10-119.3(b)(l), which compels each “licensing authority” to “(i) require each applicant for a license to disclose the Social Security number of the applicant; and (ii) record the applicant’s Social Security number on the application.” If Maryland’s Child Support Enforcement Administration notifies the licensing authority that a licensee is in arrears on a child support order, it can “request a licensing authority to suspend or deny an individual’s license.” Md. Code Ann., Fam. Law § 10-119.3(e)(l). The Court of Appeals of Maryland is such a licensing authority. Id. § 10-119.3(a)(3)(ii)(15).

In 2009, then-Chief Judge Robert M, Bell of the Court of Appeals notified all Maryland attorneys that they were required to provide their social security numbers to comply with sections 10-119.3 and 10-313. Most Maryland attorneys heeded the Chief Judge’s notice, but over nine thousand did not. When the General Assembly threatened to withhold $1 million from the judiciary’s budget if it did not move more- aggressively against the recalcitrant attorneys, the Court of Ap[394]*394peals amended its rules to provide for enforcement.

The resulting Rule 16-811.5 mandated that “each attorney admitted to practice before the Court of Appeals ... shall ... provide to the treasurer of the Fund the attorney’s Social Security number.” Md. Rules, Rule 16 — 811.5(a)(1) (2014) (current version at Md. Rules, Rule 19-605(a)(l) (2016)).1 In addition, Rule 16-811.6 provided that the Court could suspend the license of any attorney who fails to comply with Rule 16-811.5. Md. Rules, Rule 16-811.6 (current version at Md. Rules, Rule 19-606).

B.

Tankersley has been licensed to practice law in Maryland since 1986 and in the District of Columbia since 1987. He has practiced primarily in the District of Columbia, while living in either the District or Virginia. Outside of the suspension underlying this case, he has never been disciplined.

Tankersley was notified in February 2013 that the Fund had never received his social security number, as requested in 2009, and that he had until March 22, 2013 to provide it. Tankersley responded that he generally does not share his social security number unnecessarily because of concerns about identity theft. Tankersley also noted that Maryland state agencies have suffered cyberatt'acks,' resulting in the exposure of individuals’ private information.

Citing these concerns, Tankersley refused to provide his social security number to the Fund, and questioned the legality of Rule 16-811.5. He was thereafter notified that his license had been suspended because Of his failure to comply with the Court’s rule.

C.

Tankersley sued James Almand, the Chair of the Fund, the other trustees of the Fund, and the judges and clerk of the Court of Appeals, alleging that the suspension of his license to practice violated section 7(a)(1) of the Privacy Act. He sought injunctive relief.

Tankersley moved for summary judgment, and the Defendants moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim or for summary judgment. The district court, relying on its decision in Greidinger v. Almand, 30 F.Supp.3d 413 (D. Md. 2014),2 granted the Defendants’ motion to dismiss.

The court in Greidinger held that the word “applicant” in § 666 was not limited to “those who are applying or reapplying for a license,” as “it is clear that under [the Welfare Act] the federal government intended to implement a system which required complete disclosure of [sociál security numbers] by every individual who is subject to a licensing authority,” and § 666 therefore superseded section 7(a)(1). 30 F.Supp.3d at 422, 424. The court also found that § 405 of the Tax Reform Act superseded section 7(a)(1) of the Privacy Act, noting that although “the statutory language is less than clear, the legislative history provides ample evidence that the Senate Finance Committee believed the needs of State and local governments trumped individual privacy in [the tax administration] context.” Id. at 426.

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Bluebook (online)
837 F.3d 390, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 16737, 2016 WL 4750603, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/michael-tankersley-v-james-almand-ca4-2016.