United States v. Cutting & Trimming, Inc.

206 F. Supp. 951, 9 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1762, 1962 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4931
CourtDistrict Court, D. Vermont
DecidedJune 6, 1962
DocketCiv. A. 3177
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 206 F. Supp. 951 (United States v. Cutting & Trimming, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Vermont primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Cutting & Trimming, Inc., 206 F. Supp. 951, 9 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1762, 1962 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4931 (D. Vt. 1962).

Opinion

GIBSON, District Judge.

The United States, seeking to foreclose its tax liens, filed this action against the taxpayer, Cutting & Trimming, Inc. It named as party defendants, Chittenden Trust Company, Rainbow Children’s Dress Co., and the State of Vermont. Defendant Rainbow Children’s Dress Co. went out of business sometime in 1961, and has entered no appearance in this action. The background facts essential to this particular problem may be simply stated. Defendant, Chittenden Trust Company, has possession of the sum of $1,878.82, which was deposited with it by the defendant, Cutting & Trimming. To enforce its liens on this sum of money, the plaintiff has moved for judgment on the pleadings. That the plaintiff is entitled to the bank deposit is admitted by all of the defendants except the State of Vermont. The State of Vermont has opposed the motion insofar as it claims a prior right to a portion of the money held on deposit by the Trust Company, and in its answer to the complaint, the State has set up a prayer for a decree stating its prior right.

There is no dispute about the remaining facts. On October 21, 1958, the State of Vermont made an assessment and demand on defendant Cutting & Trimming for $1628.15 for state withholding taxes it then claimed due for the third quarter of 1958. The State filed notice of lien on October 30, 1958, pursuant to 32 V.S. A. Sec. 5765. The federal Commissioner of Internal Revenue made an assessment on the taxpayer, Cutting & Trimming, amounting to $5,365.96 on February 9, 1959. This assessment was for taxes arising in the year of 1958 under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act. Notice of lien was filed by the Commissioner on June 2, 1959, pursuant to 26 U.S.C.A. § 6323. There were other assessments and notices of lien by both the State and the United States, but it is not necessary to consider them here. It is necessary to note only that the first lien of the State of Vermont was filed in October of 1958, and the first lien of the federal government was filed in June of [953]*9531959. The priority of right to the money held by the Trust Company must be determined according to the relative priority of these liens.

Before examining the liens in question here, it should be noted that the State instituted a suit against Cutting & Trimming in a Vermont state court on May 21, 1959, joining the Chittenden Trust Company as trustee. Judgment for the State for the taxes owing by Cutting & Trimming was rendered on October 23, 1959. Realizing that it can claim no priority as a judgment creditor over the earlier lien of the United States the State now relies entirely on its status as a holder of a lien for taxes.

The record discloses no insolvency on the part of the taxpayer, Cutting & Trimming. The Federal Priority Statute, R.S. Sec. 3466, 31 U.S.C.A. § 191, therefore is not applicable here. The United States relies upon its position as holder of a lien created by Sec. 6321 of Title 26 U.S.C.A. This statute does not confer priority upon the federal liens so created. Sec. 6322 of the same title states when the lien shall arise, and how long it shall last. Sec. 6323 of the same title sets out the validity of the lien as it relates to certain classes of persons (none of which is applicable in this case), and the filing and notice requirements. The United States then has two

methods of enforcing the tax lien. Sections 6331-6344 of Title 26 U.S.C.A. provide for the seizure of property for collection of taxes. Section 6331 in particular refers to levy and distraint upon all property of the defaulting taxpayer on which, in one instance, there is a lien for the payment of taxes. The second enforcement method is found in Section 7403 of Title 26, U.S.C.A., which provides for enforcement of the lien by civil action. That provision is the basis for the action now before this Court.

The State of Vermont in turn relies upon its position as holder of a lien created by Section 5765 of Title 32, V.S.A. This statute is applicable only in cases of employers, and in connection with nonpayment of withholding taxes. Otherwise, it is an identical state counterpart of the federal lien provisions in 26 U.S. C.A. §§ 6321, 6322 and 6323.1 *The state enforcement provision is also similar to that in the federal statutes. By reference to the Vermont chattel mortgage statute,2 the tax lien foreclosure provision incorporates the remedy of either public sale by a public officer, or foreclosure by a bill in equity.

The determination of priority of the competing liens in this case is governed by federal law. United States v. Brosnan, 363 U.S. 237, 80 S.Ct. 1108, 4 L.Ed.2d 1192 (1960); Aquilino v. United [954]*954States, 363 U.S. 509, 80 S.Ct. 1277, 1285, 4 L.Ed.2d 1365, 1371 (1960). Further, the determination of this Court is to be guided by the principles outlined by the Supreme Court in United States v. City of New Britain, 347 U.S. 81, 74 S.Ct. 367, 98 L.Ed. 520 (1954). Indeed, both the State and the United States rely entirely on the New Britain case. Thus it is important to examine that case carefully in connection with the matter at hand. An enlightening study of New Britain is found in an article by Professor Frank Kennedy 3 in which he examines the development of federal tax lien priority from Spokane County v. United States, 279 U.S. 80, 49 S.Ct. 321, 73 L.Ed. 621 (1929) to United States v. City of New Britain, supra. However, since that article was written, the Supreme Court has found the federal tax lien to be superior to competing liens in several cases.4 This might well alter some conclusions gained from the article. No case has dealt with a tax lien as here asserted by the State of Vermont. These more recent cases, therefore do not alter this Court’s conclusions about New Britain, as it particularly relates to the present action.

Statutory liens must be unquestionably complete to overcome the federal tax lien priority. This is most obvious in the cases just cited. The test established by the New Britain case, 347 U.S. at page 86, 74 S.Ct. at page 370, is that the “priority of each statutory lien contested here must depend on the time it attached to the property in question and became ehoate.” Choate, as defined in Webster’s New International Dictiontary, 2nd Ed., 1952, means complete. It comes from the word inchoate, derivative of the Latin, incohare, which means to begin or to initiate. As used in connection with liens, as indicated by the rulings of the Supreme Court, it means that not only must a lien be more than initiated, it means that all steps must be taken that will insure that the lien will not be lost. In some cases, it has meant that the lienor must bring suit and obtain judgment. See particularly in this respect the dissent by Mr. Justice Douglas-in United States v. White Bear Brewing Co., 350 U.S. 1010, 76 S.Ct. 646, 100 L.Ed. 871 (1956).

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
206 F. Supp. 951, 9 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1762, 1962 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4931, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-cutting-trimming-inc-vtd-1962.