United States v. Brame

243 F. Supp. 29, 16 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5440, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9797
CourtDistrict Court, D. Idaho
DecidedJune 25, 1965
DocketNo. 2396
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 243 F. Supp. 29 (United States v. Brame) 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
United States v. Brame, 243 F. Supp. 29, 16 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5440, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9797 (D. Idaho 1965).

Opinion

McNICHOLS, District Judge.

This matter is before the court to determine the relative precedence between a tax lien of the United States and that of an attaching creditor in the State of Idaho whose claim has been reduced to judgment.

Plaintiff, the United States of America, initiated this action pursuant to Sections 7401 and 7403 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (26 U.S.C. §§ 7401 & 7403), to foreclose plaintiff’s tax liens against the property and rights to property of defendant-taxpayer Frank C. Brame.

Jurisdiction of the court is based on 28 U.S.C. § 1340 and § 7402(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (26 U.S.C. § 7402(a)).

Also named as parties defendant to the suit were the Coeur d’Alenes Com[30]*30pany- of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Bill and Bromo Zanetti, d/b/a Zanetti Brothers, of Wallace, Idaho, creditors of defendant-taxpayer Frank C. Brame, and First National Bank of Wallace, Idaho, the holder of a fund of money payable to the account of defendant-taxpayer Frank C. Brame.

Plaintiff more specifically, by this action, seeks foreclosure of the aforementioned tax liens against the fund of money held by defendant First National Bank of Wallace to the account of defendant-taxpayer Brame.

Defendant First National Bank of Wallace, by way of answer, admitted the existence of a sum of $1,769.26 originally payable to the defendant-taxpayer Brame. Defendant Bank, however, continues to hold this fund, by reason of various attachments and executions levied on it by defendant Coeur d’Alenes Company and defendants Bill and Bromo Zanetti, d/b/a Zanetti Brothers and the tax liens of the plaintiff, subject to the order of the court which will exonerate the defendant Bank from any liability with respect to the fund.

Default judgment was taken against Bill and Bromo Zanetti, d/b/a Zanetti Brothers and defendant-taxpayer Frank C. Brame on November 25, 1964 for failure to defend this action.

Defendant Coeur d’Alenes Company (hereinafter defendant) by answer alleged that it was a judgment creditor within the meaning of 26 U.S.C. § 6323 and therefore entitled to priority over plaintiff’s tax liens in the fund held by First National Bank of Wallace.

A hearing was held on the cause March 18,1965 wherein coufisel for plaintiff and defendant stipulated to the following facts:

1. That plaintiff on January 13, 1961 levied an assessment for withholding taxes, penalties and interest against Frank C. Brame in the amount of $905.89.

2. That the foregoing levy of assessment for unpaid taxes was filed for record in the Shoshone County Clerk’s Office on May 25,1961.

3. That on October 20, 1961, plaintiff levied assessments for withholding taxes, penalties and interest in the amount of $223.13 and $56.13 against Frank C. Brame which were recorded in the Shoshone County Clerk’s Office on November 27, 1961. As to these assessments, however, the parties agreed there was no contest since they were subsequent to defendant’s levy of execution (May 31, 1961) on a judgment it received December 7, 1961 against Frank C. Brame.

4. That on October 19, 1960, the defendant instituted an action against Frank C. Brame for a debt owed and on that same date caused a writ of attachment to be served upon First National Bank of Wallace attaching funds in the sum of $1,769.06, then payable to the account of Frank C. Brame.

5. That on December 7, 1960, the defendant had judgment on its claim against Frank C. Brame in the District Court of Shoshone County, Idaho, in the amount of $1,102.43 with interest thereon until paid.

6. That on May 31, 1961, levy of execution on the judgment received by the defendant was served on the First National Bank of Wallace.

Counsel for both parties further stipulated that the matter would be submitted on briefs to the court which have been duly received and considered.

The plaintiff United States bases its claim of right to the fund on a statutory tax lien under § 6321 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (26 U.S.C. § 6321) which provides in part:

“If any person liable to pay any tax neglects or refuses to pay the same after demand, the amount * * * shall be a lien in favor of the United States upon all property and rights to property, whether real or personal, belonging to such person.”

Defendant Coeur d’Alenes Company urges that it is a judgment creditor with[31]*31in the meaning of § 6323 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (26 U.S.C. § 6323) which provides in part:

“ * * * the lien imposed by section 6321 shall not be valid as against any * * * judgment creditor until notice thereof has been filed by the Secretary or his delegate * * ”

Additionally, defendant contends that by virtue of the attachment and judgment, which occurred prior to the recording of plaintiff's tax lien, that it is entitled to priority under the doctrine of “first in time is first in right”.

It is the position of the plaintiff that an attachment of personal property and entry of judgment thereon is insufficient to establish a priority of right but that defendant must have had levy of execution on the judgment prior to the recording of plaintiff’s tax lien to result in a priority.

The issue thus presented for determination is whether an attachment of personal property and judgment thereon prior in time to the recordation of a federal tax lien entitles the holder to a priority in satisfaction of his claim out of the attached property.

The statute creating the federal lien asserted here, I.R.C. § 6321 (26 U.S.C. § 6321) is a general lien and does not by its terms confer a priority over competing non-federal liens. Rather, priority is determined, as in the case of any other incumbrances, by the principle of “first in time, is first in right”. United States v. City of New Britain, Conn., 347 U.S. 81, 74 S.Ct. 367, 98 L.Ed. 520 (1954).

The tax lien created by § 6321 arises upon the date the unpaid taxes are assessed by the District Director of Internal Revenue (26 U.S.C. § 6322). However, as to the specific interests mentioned in I.R.C. § 6323(a), (26 U.S.C. § 6323(a)) i. e., mortgagees, pledgees, purchasers and judgment creditors, such lien is not valid until placed of public record.

Under the general principle of “first in time, is first in right” the relative priority of right- between competing federal and non-federal statutory liens must depend upon the time each lien attached to the property and became choate.

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Bluebook (online)
243 F. Supp. 29, 16 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5440, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9797, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-brame-idd-1965.