United States v. Blackburn

538 F. Supp. 1376, 54 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5924, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12311
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedMay 7, 1982
Docket82-205-Civ-J-B, 82-206-Civ-J-B
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 538 F. Supp. 1376 (United States v. Blackburn) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Blackburn, 538 F. Supp. 1376, 54 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5924, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12311 (M.D. Fla. 1982).

Opinion

OPINION

SUSAN H. BLACK, District Judge.

The Court has for consideration the Petition to Enforce Internal Revenue Service Summons, filed herein on February 26, 1982. An evidentiary hearing was conducted before the undersigned on April 12,1982.

*1378 The issues in question herein arise from two cases which were consolidated by an order of the Court entered March 30, 1982. In Case No. 82-205-Civ-J-B, the government seeks various records of the taxpayer in the possession of her attorney, A. B. Blackburn. In Case No. 82-206-Civ-J-B, the government seeks similar records in the possession of David C. Skinner, an accountant retained by the taxpayer as a potential expert witness. 1 In each case, the taxpayer intervened pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 7609(bXl), in an attempt to prohibit the enforcement of the summonses.

The taxpayer operated a tax and accounting service in which she engaged, among other things, in the preparation of tax returns. Prior to the present civil investigation, the taxpayer had been under investigation by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service for possible tax preparer violations. In August of 1979, the taxpayer retained attorney Arthur T. Boone to represent her. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Boone associated Mr. Blackburn, a specialist in tax law, to assist him in the representation of the taxpayer. Subsequently, upon the advice of Mr. Blackburn, Mr. Boone retained Mr. Skinner, an investigative accountant, to advise the attorneys in the preparation of the taxpayer’s defense and to serve as an expert witness if necessary. After retaining counsel, the taxpayer delivered her records — those in question herein — to her attorneys to assist them in evaluating her case. As disclosed in a letter to this Court, Mr. Skinner was in possession of the records at the time the summonses were issued.

On November 28, 1979, the criminal investigation was closed and the taxpayer was informed of this fact. On September 25, 1980, Revenue Agent Vivian E. Reedy was assigned to examine the taxpayer’s potential personal civil tax liability for the years 1977 to 1980. The taxpayer had filed late returns in 1977 and 1978, and has not filed returns for 1979 and 1980. In conducting her inquiry, Agent Reedy issued the summonses in question herein. Mr. Blackburn and Mr. Skinner, upon instructions from the taxpayer, have refused to comply with the summonses and, as noted above, the taxpayer has intervened.

I. PURPOSE OF THE SUMMONS

In determining whether the summonses issued by the government are enforceable, the Court must initially ascertain the pur *1379 pose for which they were issued. The taxpayer vigorously asserts that the summonses should not be enforced because they were issued for an improper purpose. Specifically, taxpayer contends that the sole purpose of the summonses was to gather evidence for use in a criminal prosecution of the taxpayer. See United States v. LaSalle National Bank, 437 U.S. 298, 316, 98 S.Ct. 2357, 2367, 57 L.Ed.2d 221 (1978). The government, to the contrary, maintains that the summonses were issued in an attempt to learn whether taxpayer has incurred a civil tax liability.

The taxpayer bears the burden of demonstrating that the government’s purpose in issuing the summons was improper. Id. Clearly, the burden is a heavy one. The taxpayer must prove that the government’s only motivation in issuing the summons was to gather information for a subsequent criminal prosecution. Even a showing by the taxpayer that the agent’s sole motivation was for criminal purposes is not dispositive. Id. 437 U.S. at 319, 98 S.Ct. at 2368. Rather, the taxpayer must demonstrate that the Internal Revenue Service, in “an institutional sense,” has abandoned any interest in recovering the taxpayer’s civil liability. In fact, it has been held that “before the investigating agent completes his investigation the summons is ‘virtually unassailable.’ ” United States v. Harris, 628 F.2d 875, 882 (5th Cir. 1980).

The taxpayer attempts to meet her burden by juxtaposing the prior criminal investigation relating to possible preparer infractions with the current investigation relating to her personal tax liability. The taxpayer equates the prior criminal investigation with the present civil investigation. This tactic fails. Clearly, the civil investigation now underway is separate and independent from the prior criminal inquiry.

The evidence adduced at the hearing revealed that Agent Reedy, the revenue agent in charge of the case, has the responsibility of examining filed returns to ascertain whether a civil tax liability exists. Agent Reedy further revealed that since she had inadequate information with which to determine the taxpayer’s income for various years, she issued the instant summonses which were designed to provide her with the appropriate information. Agent Reedy’s investigation into the taxpayer’s civil tax liability is not complete and no referral of the case has been made to the criminal division. The Court believes Agent Reedy’s testimony and finds that the summonses were not issued for an improper purpose within the meaning of that term as set forth in LaSalle. Therefore, the summonses are enforceable in the absence of the taxpayer’s assertion of a valid privilege.

II. FIFTH AMENDMENT PRIVILEGE

In the case at bar, the taxpayer claims the documents and records requested by the summonses are privileged under the fifth amendment to the United States Constitution. Initially, the government challenges the taxpayer’s right to invoke the privilege in the context of this case. The government urges the Court to apply the well-settled rule that one who possesses documents of corporations, partnerships, associations, or other legal entities may not rely on the fifth amendment’s shield and may be compelled to produce the requested documents. See Bellis v. United States, 417 U.S. 85, 88, 94 S.Ct. 2179, 2182, 40 L.Ed.2d 678 (1974). Here, however, the taxpayer asserts that she operated her business of preparing income tax returns as a sole proprietorship and that she is, therefore, entitled to invoke the fifth amendment. Id. 417 U.S. at 87-88, 94 S.Ct. at 2182. Thus, the question becomes one of fact; whether the taxpayer operated her business in the form of a sole proprietorship.

A review of the evidence causes the Court to find that the taxpayer did, in fact, operate as a sole proprietorship. The Court heard testimony to that effect from three separate witnesses, including the taxpayer’s tax attorney, Mr. Blackburn. Mr. Blackburn stated that the taxpayer is unincorporated and files her income tax returns under Schedule C, which indicates that the taxpayer is a sole proprietor. As the government provided no significant evi *1380

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

Related

Aiken v. Texas Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance
151 F.R.D. 621 (E.D. Texas, 1993)
United States v. G & G Advertising Co.
592 F. Supp. 1278 (E.D. Missouri, 1984)
United States v. Carr
585 F. Supp. 863 (E.D. Louisiana, 1984)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
538 F. Supp. 1376, 54 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5924, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12311, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-blackburn-flmd-1982.