United States v. North Side Deposit Bank

498 F. Supp. 133, 46 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 6021, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13954
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 6, 1980
DocketCiv. A. No. 80-788
StatusPublished

This text of 498 F. Supp. 133 (United States v. North Side Deposit Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. North Side Deposit Bank, 498 F. Supp. 133, 46 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 6021, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13954 (W.D. Pa. 1980).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

TITELBAUM, District Judge.

This case presents a challenge to the enforcement of an'Internal Revenue Service summons directed to a third party record keeper, defendant North Side Deposit Bank. Defendant-intervenor Howard Hull has asked the Court to stay enforcement of the summons and permit further discovery to elicit the information permitted under U. S. v. LaSalle National Bank, 437 U.S. 298, 98 S.Ct. 2357, 57 L.Ed.2d 221 (1978) and U. S. v. Genser, 595 F.2d 146 (3rd Cir. 1979) (Genser II). Relying on the testimony presented at the August 14, 1980 Show Cause hearing and the guidelines for summons enforcement outlined in LaSalle, supra, Genser II, supra, U. S. v. Genser, 602 F.2d 69 (3rd Cir. 1979) (per curiam) (Genser III), and U. S. v. McCarthy, 514 F.2d 368 (1975), this Court finds enforcement of the summons is appropriate and further discovery is unnecessary.

On January 29, 1980, the IRS issued a summons (Form 2039) in the matter of the tax liability of defendant-intervenor Howard A. Hull, directing defendant North Side Deposit Bank to appear before Special Agent Allen Rawls with records relating to Mr. Hull’s financial transactions for the years 1974-79. When North Side Deposit Bank failed to comply, the office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania filed a Complaint to Enforce Internal Revenue Summons, supported by Agent Rawls’ affidavit. On June 17,1980, this Court issued an Order to Show Cause why the Bank should not be compelled to obey the summons. At that time Hull intervened, filing a Response to the Petition to Enforce Summons, a Motion for Depositions and Discovery, or alternatively an Evidentiary Hearing or In Camera Inspection, and a Motion to Quash Summonses Directed to Third Parties. On August 14, 1980, this Court held a hearing at which time Agent Rawls testified in sup[135]*135port of the Complaint to Enforce Summons. Through cross examination, Hull attempted to elicit testimony to support his challenges to the enforcement of the summons: these challenges are the subject of the present opinion.1

A brief review of the case law on this subject will serve to put this case in perspective. The leading case on guidelines for enforcement of such summons is U. S. v. LaSalle, supra. LaSalle requires that

1) the summons is issued prior to referral to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution,
2) the summons is issued in “good faith” as defined by U. S. v. Powell, 379 U.S. 48, 85 S.Ct. 248, 13 L.Ed.2d 112:
a) the investigation is for a legitimate purpose,
b) the material sought is relevant to the legitimate purpose,
c) the IRS doesn’t already have the information, and
d) the proper administrative steps have been followed.
3) the IRS has not abandoned pursuit of civil tax determination collection.

Hull’s challenges are two fold: the abandonment of civil tax determination and the absence of “good faith” on the part of the IRS.

Primarily he opposes the summons on the ground that it was issued solely for purposes of a criminal investigation and is therefore unenforceable under LaSalle, supra. To support this view, he offers the testimony of Agent Rawls that Rawls is assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS, that Intervenor Hull was the subject of a criminal investigation, and that documents in the case were marked with a special Control Code indicating the criminal nature of the investigation. Considered by itself, this allegation is insufficient-

. .. several cases have held that the mere fact that a special agent has entered into an investigation or that the investigation is being conducted by the investigative branch of the IRS is insufficient to demonstrate criminal purpose so as to defeat enforcement of a summons.

U. S. v. McCarthy, supra; See also: Donaldson v. U. S., 400 U.S. 517, 91 S.Ct. 534, 27 L.Ed.2d 580 (1970); Reisman v. Caplan, 375 U.S. 440, 84 S.Ct. 508, 11 L.Ed.2d 459 (1964), U. S. v. Fisher, 500 F.2d 683 (3rd Cir. 1974). Under the Powell guidelines, a summons may be issued only for the purpose of civil tax liability; once the investigation overlaps into the criminal area, the summons becomes suspect. In LaSalle, the Supreme Court established a cut off rule further clarified by Genser II: referral to the Justice Department precludes any further IRS summons; prior to such referral, however, summonses are presumptively valid at two levels. At the first level, the Agent having recommended prosecution to his superiors but not to the Justice Department, the burden on the taxpayer is “heavy”. At the second level, before recommendation or referral to either, the burden on the taxpayer is “virtually insurmountable.” Genser II, supra. In the present case, as Agent Rawls has not recommended referral to his superiors and there has been no referral to the Justice Department, Hull bears an “insurmountable burden of proof.” He has not met the burden on this allegation alone.

Hull asserts a further indication of the abandonment by the IRS of any civil tax purpose in this investigation-the failure of the IRS to collect a judgment secured against him for the year 1977. The same allegation, however, was rejected by the Court in McCarthy, supra :

... a prior determination of defendant corporation’s civil tax liability for the years in question might be evidence that the current investigation was not being conducted in good faith as a civil investigation. However, we find that defendant’s allegations were not sufficient to [136]*136raise the possibility of bad faith in this respect. In particular, there is no allegation that the IRS had pursued all available civil remedies with respect to each of the years currently under investigation, including civil penalties under 26 U.S.C. § 6651 et seq. (1970), which, if based on failure to file a return, filing of a fraudulent return, or on a willful attempt to evade tax could be assessed at any time, without limitation, under U.S.C. § 6501 (1970).

McCarthy, supra at 375.'

Finally, he asserts a lack of “good faith” by contending the IRS has a policy of classifying ' taxpayers filing Fifth Amendment tax returns as “Tax Protestors” and selecting them for criminal investigation and possible prosecution. This policy, he concludes, coupled with the failure of the IRS to collect the 1977 Judgment, is a clear indication of a criminal investigation.

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Related

Reisman v. Caplin
375 U.S. 440 (Supreme Court, 1964)
United States v. Powell
379 U.S. 48 (Supreme Court, 1964)
Donaldson v. United States
400 U.S. 517 (Supreme Court, 1971)
United States v. LaSalle National Bank
437 U.S. 298 (Supreme Court, 1978)
United States v. Lester Genser and Lawrence Forman
595 F.2d 146 (Third Circuit, 1979)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
498 F. Supp. 133, 46 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 6021, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13954, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-north-side-deposit-bank-pawd-1980.