Weiner v. United States

15 Cl. Ct. 43, 62 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5120, 1988 U.S. Claims LEXIS 116, 1988 WL 69514
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedJuly 8, 1988
DocketNo. 682-86T
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 15 Cl. Ct. 43 (Weiner v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Weiner v. United States, 15 Cl. Ct. 43, 62 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5120, 1988 U.S. Claims LEXIS 116, 1988 WL 69514 (cc 1988).

Opinion

ORDER

NETTESHEIM, Judge.

Defendant has moved to dismiss the complaint seeking refund of taxes pursuant to RUSCC 12(b), contending that plaintiff is not the real party in interest with respect to one of his claims and that this court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over plaintiff’s remaining claims. Plaintiff has opposed, and argument was held after the case was transferred to this court.

[44]*44FACTS

The complaint sets forth the following facts. On or about April 15, 1981, Martin Weiner (“plaintiff”) timely filed his 1980 tax return with the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”). Plaintiff’s Form 1040 for 1980 declared a taxable income of $41,-856.00 for which $13,436.00 was due in federal taxes. Plaintiff did , not enclose payment with his return. Later, in February of 1982 (according to plaintiff), plaintiff filed an amended return. This form stated plaintiffs corrected income for 1980 as $10,756.00 and the corresponding federal tax as $1,558.00 and sought a refund of $13,436.00. At the time of this amended filing, plaintiff had paid the IRS approximately $9,300.00 of the $13,436.00 due under the original return. (Defendant says the amount paid or credited was $9,705.66.)

On or about March 22, 1983, plaintiff received an IRS Letter 693 disallowing his amended return. On May 31, 1983, plaintiff filed a second amended return seeking a refund of $13,436.00, although he alleges that he claimed approximately $8,500.00, i.e., the amount he paid minus the amount he deemed owing in his amended return. Plaintiff claims not to have received a response to the filing of this second return.

Plaintiff alleges that he made repeated attempts to seek assistance from the IRS beginning in June 1982 through the date that a tax levy was placed on his personal and business accounts in September 1986. Although plaintiff concedes an indebtedness of which he has paid approximately $9,300.00, he maintains that if the above claims had been acted upon in a fair and timely manner, the. 1982 and 1983 taxes would have been settled fully before any interest or penalties were incurred.

On October 17,1985, plaintiff — listing his occupation as President, Martin Weiner Selections, Inc., a wholesale wine firm — petitioned for bankruptcy as a debtor not engaged in business in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. In re Weiner, No. LA 85-14949-JD (C.D.Cal., filed Oct. 17, 1985). Plaintiff’s schedule of assets did not include his claim for refund of taxes for 1980. On December 10, 1985, the bankruptcy trustee filed a report indicating that there were no assets to distribute to plaintiff’s creditors. Plaintiff was adjudicated bankrupt by order dated May 20, 1986, which was entered on June 16, 1986. The case was closed on September 1, 1986.

On September 13, 1986, acting pursuant to section 6331 of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. § 6331 (1982) (the “I.R. C.”), the IRS levied upon approximately $9,738.00 in plaintiff’s personal and business bank accounts. Plaintiff challenged the levy on two grounds. First, he argued that the business accounts contained deposits from students for future wine classes, as well as profits arising out of activities after the adjudication of bankruptcy. Also erroneously levied on, according to plaintiff, was a joint account held with plaintiff’s adult daughter. Second, plaintiff took the position that 11 U.S.C. § 524(a) discharged taxes, interest, and penalties due on the basis of plaintiff’s 1980 federal tax liability.

On October 15, 1986, plaintiff mailed to the IRS a certified letter demanding that the IRS cease attempting to collect the unpaid taxes still owed by him for 1980 on the ground that this liability had been discharged in bankruptcy. The letter went further in requesting that the levied funds be applied to plaintiff’s outstanding tax liabilities for 1982 and 1983.

Plaintiff filed this action on October 27, 1986, to obtain a credit and/or refund of $8,600 allegedly paid in excess of taxes due for 1980; to set aside the amount deemed due and payable for 1980 as discharged in the bankruptcy proceedings; and to set aside the interest and penalties for 1982 and 1983. Plaintiff calculates that he is due approximately $11,500 after all taxes due are paid.

At some time after suit was instituted, the IRS recognized its error in levying against plaintiff’s accounts for the 1980 unpaid taxes, interest, and penalties which had been discharged in bankruptcy. Defendant advises that of the amount levied (which defendant claims to be $9,600.00), $5,127.65 has been applied to plaintiff’s [45]*45outstanding taxes for 1982 and the remainder to plaintiffs 1983 taxes. Plaintiff does not dispute that the amount levied has been applied in this manner.

DISCUSSION

Defendant seeks dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction of plaintiffs claims to the levied funds and for abatement of the 1982 and 1983 taxes. In assessing whether a court has jurisdiction to consider plaintiffs claim, as well as whether the complaint states a claim upon which relief can be granted, all facts alleged by plaintiff must be accepted as true, Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 1686, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974); Reynolds v. Army & Air Force Exchange Service, 846 F.2d 746, 747 (Fed.Cir.1988), and the complaint has been considered accordingly. When defendant moved to dismiss the complaint, it relied on extra-pleading material which, pursuant to RUSCC 12(b)(4), entitled plaintiff to notice that the motion would proceed under Rule 56, thereby affording plaintiff the procedures available under Rules 56(f), (g) to respond to the motion. Cf. Vink v. Hendrikus Johannes Schijf, Rolkan N.V., 839 F.2d 676, 677 (Fed.Cir.1988). Although plaintiff was not so notified, the court inquired of plaintiff at argument whether he wished to supplement the record or took the position that the record was sufficient, from his perspective, to allow the court to rule on defendant’s motion. Plaintiff equably rested on the record.

1. At argument plaintiff clarified that his claim with respect to 1980 taxes was to ascertain the correct amount of his liability such that an additional amount would be applied to his 1982 and 1983 taxes. Defendant responded that plaintiff is not the real party in interest with respect to this claim as a consequence of his having failed to schedule the claim to refund as an asset of the bankrupt estate.

RUSCC 17(a) requires that a case must be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest. A case not prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest is subject to dismissal. See 6 C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice & Procedure: Civil § 1554 (1971) [hereinafter “Wright & Miller”]. At issue is whether the claim to property was abandoned by the bankruptcy trustee and therefore reverted back to plaintiff or whether plaintiffs failure to schedule the refund as an asset precludes his claiming it as abandoned by the trustee.

11 U.S.C.

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15 Cl. Ct. 43, 62 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5120, 1988 U.S. Claims LEXIS 116, 1988 WL 69514, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/weiner-v-united-states-cc-1988.