United States v. Engen

District Court, W.D. Washington·Decided September 24, 2021·No. 2:18-cv-00712·Unknown

Opinion

WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, CASE NO. C18-712 RSM

Plaintiff, ORDER ON PENDING MOTIONS

v.

CAROL L. ENGEN, et al.,

Defendants.

This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff United States’ Motion for Summary Judgment Against Carol L. Engen. Dkt. #104. Also before the Court is Defendant King County’s 12(c) Motion to Dismiss Defendant Engen’s Crossclaims. Dkt. #105. Defendant Carol L. Engen (“Ms. Engen”) opposes both motions. Dkts. #114 and #115. Following briefing of those motions, Ms. Engen filed various documents which the Court addresses in turn. Dkts. #113, #118, #119, #120, #121, #122, #123, #124, #127, #128, and #129. Having considered the matters, the Court grants the motion for summary judgment filed by Plaintiff United States of America (the “United States”), grants the motion to dismiss filed by Defendant King County (“King County”), and closes this matter. The Court has previously recounted the basic facts of this action: Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Carol L. Engen (“Ms. Engen” or “Defendant”) filed insufficient tax returns “for the federal income tax years 2004 to 2008.” Dkt. #1 at ¶ 14. As a result, “a duly authorized delegate of the Secretary of the Treasure made timely assessments against [Ms. Engen] for unpaid federal income taxes . . ., civil penalties . . ., penalties, interest, and other statutory additions.” Id. at ¶ 15. As of the filing of this action, those assessments amounted to $250,880.66. Id. at ¶¶ 15, 19. Ms. Engen was provided notice of these assessments, but failed to pay. Id. at ¶¶ 17–19. On or around April 19, 2017, Ms. Engen acquired “a parcel of real property commonly described as 16423 NE 15th Street, Bellevue, WA 98008 (“Subject Property”)” after her husband passed away. Id. at ¶¶ 8–13. Ms. Engen executed and subsequently recorded an “Affidavit Re: Will and Transfer on Death Deed.” Id. at ¶ 13. On November 9, 2017, the United States Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) recorded, against the Subject Property, “a Notice of Federal Tax Lien (“NFTL”) against [Ms. Engen] with respect to unpaid federal income tax liabilities” for the applicable periods. Id. at ¶ 24.

On May 15, 2018, Plaintiff initiated this action “to: (i) reduce to judgment the outstanding federal tax assessments against Defendant Carol L. Engen; and (ii) foreclose federal tax liens on” the Subject Property. Id. at ¶ 1. Ms. Engen shortly thereafter filed for bankruptcy, causing this Court to stay the matter pending resolution of Ms. Engen’s bankruptcy proceedings. Dkts. #5 and #6. After Ms. Engen’s bankruptcy action was dismissed, the Court lifted the stay . . . .

Dkt. #43 at 1–2 (alterations in original). A. United States’ Motion for Summary Judgment 1. Legal Standard Summary judgment is appropriate where “the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” FED. R. CIV. P. 56(a); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247 (1986). Material facts are those which might affect the outcome of the suit under governing law. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248. In ruling on summary judgment, a court does not weigh evidence to determine the truth of the matter, but “only determine[s] whether there is a genuine issue for trial.” Crane v. Conoco, Inc., 41 F.3d 547, 549 (9th Cir. 1994) (citing Federal Deposit Ins. Corp. v. O’Melveny & Meyers, 969 F.2d 744, 747 (9th Cir. 1992)). The non-moving party must present significant and probative evidence to support its claim or defense. Intel Corp. v. Hartford Accident & Indem. Co., 952 F.2d 1551, 1558 (9th Cir.

1991). “The mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the [non-moving party’s] position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the [non-moving party].” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 251. Neither will uncorroborated allegations and self-serving testimony create a genuine issue of material fact. Villiarimo v. Aloha Island Air, Inc., 281 F.3d 1054, 1061 (9th Cir. 2002); T.W. Elec. Serv. v. Pac. Elec. Contractors Ass’n, 809 F. 2d 626, 630 (9th Cir. 1987). Rather, the non-moving party must make a “sufficient showing on [each] essential element of her case with respect to which she has the burden of proof” to survive summary judgment. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986). On summary judgment, the Court views the evidence and draws inferences in the light

most favorable to the non-moving party. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255; Sullivan v. U.S. Dep’t of the Navy, 365 F.3d 827, 832 (9th Cir. 2004). However, where the non-moving party fails to properly support an assertion of fact or fails to properly address the moving party’s assertions of fact, the Court will accept the fact as undisputed. FED. R. CIV. P. 56(e). As such, the Court relies “on the nonmoving party to identify with reasonable particularity the evidence that precludes summary judgment.” Keenan v. Allan, 91 F.3d 1275, 1278–79 (9th Cir. 1996) (quotation marks and citations omitted). The Court need not “comb through the record to find some reason to deny a motion for summary judgment.” Carmen v. San Francisco Unified Sch. Dist., 237 F.3d 1026, 1029 (9th Cir. 2001); Keenan, 91 F.3d at 1279 (the court will not “scour the record in search of a genuine issue of triable fact”). 2. The Record Before the Court The Court finds it appropriate to first clarify the record on which this motion is considered. On June 17, 2021, the Court addressed several pending motions and granted a motion to compel and for sanctions that had been filed by the United States. Dkt. #101. The Court found that Ms. Engen had “failed to timely respond to the United States’ First Set of Interrogatories and

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