Willingham v. United States

763 F. Supp. 275, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1672, 1991 WL 75394
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Tennessee
DecidedFebruary 1, 1991
DocketNo. CIV-1-89-584
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 763 F. Supp. 275 (Willingham v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Willingham v. United States, 763 F. Supp. 275, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1672, 1991 WL 75394 (E.D. Tenn. 1991).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

EDGAR, District Judge.

The matter presently before the Court is a motion by defendant United States of America for summary judgment. (Court File No. 15). Plaintiff has not timely filed a response and the Court deems plaintiff to have waived opposition to the motion. Elmore v. Evans, 449 F.Supp. 2 (E.D.Tenn. 1976), aff'd, 577 F.2d 740 (6th Cir.1978) (unpublished per curiam); LR 10.2, EDTN. The Court has carefully reviewed the record and concludes that the motion for summary judgment should be GRANTED under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56.

Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c) provides that summary judgment “shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” The Court must view the facts and all inferences to be drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. 60 Ivy Street Corp. v. Alexander, 822 F.2d 1432, 1435 (6th Cir.1987); Kochins v. Linden-Alimak, Inc., 799 F.2d 1128, 1133 (6th Cir.1986); Securities and Exchange Commission v. Blavin, 760 F.2d 706, 710 (6th Cir.1985). The burden is on the moving party to conclusively show that no genuine issue of material fact exists. Smith v. Hudson, 600 F.2d 60, 63 (6th Cir.), cert. dismissed, 444 U.S. 986, 100 S.Ct. 495, 62 L.Ed.2d 415 (1979).

In 60 Ivy Street Corp., 822 F.2d at 1435-36, the Sixth Circuit stated:

Not every factual dispute between the parties will prevent summary judgment. The disputed facts must be material. They must be facts which, under the substantive law governing the issue, might affect the outcome of the suit. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The facts must be such that if they were proven at trial a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the non-moving party. Id., 106 S.Ct. at 2510. The disputed issue does not have to be resolved conclusively in favor of the non-moving party, but that party is required to present some significant probative evidence which makes it necessary to resolve the parties’ differing versions of the dispute at trial. First National Bank of Arizona v. Cities Service Co., [276]*276391 U.S. 253, 288-89, 88 S.Ct. 1575, 1592, 20 L.Ed.2d 569 (1968).
The judge’s function at the point of summary judgment is limited to determining whether sufficient evidence has been presented to make the issue a proper jury question, and not to judge the evidence and make findings of fact. “[A]t the summary judgment stage the judge’s function is not himself to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial.” Anderson, 106 S.Ct. at 2511.

Once the moving party presents evidence sufficient to support a motion under Rule 56, the nonmoving party is not entitled to a trial merely on the basis of allegations. The nonmoving party must present some significant probative evidence to support its position. White v. Turfway Park Racing Ass’n, Inc., 909 F.2d 941, 943-44 (6th Cir.1990); Gregg v. Allen-Bradley Co., 801 F.2d 859, 861 (6th Cir.1986). The moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law if the nonmoving party fails to make a sufficient showing on an essential element of his case with respect to which he has the burden of proof. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

In Celotex, the Supreme Court stated that summary judgment should not be disfavored and may be an appropriate avenue for the “just, speedy and inexpensive determination” of a matter. Id. at 327, 106 S.Ct. at 2555. Mere allegations of a cause of action will no longer suffice to get a plaintiff’s case to the jury. Cloverdale Equipment Co. v. Simon Aerials, Inc., 869 F.2d 934, 937 (6th Cir.1989). The party with the burden of proof at trial is required to produce concrete evidence supporting his claims and establishing the existence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. at 2552; White, 909 F.2d at 944; Adcock v. Firestone Tire and Rubber Co., 822 F.2d 623, 626 (6th Cir.1987).

The Court has reviewed the record in the light most favorable to plaintiff. Plaintiff filed this cause of action on December 15, 1990, seeking to recover an income tax refund in the amount of $78.52 which he alleges is owed by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). The sum of $78.52 was withheld from plaintiff in income taxes for the 1974 tax year. Plaintiff did not file an income tax return for 1974 and did not otherwise assert a claim for a refund until he filed his 1974 federal income tax return with the IRS on March 16, 1989. The IRS wrote a letter to plaintiff on June 15, 1989, disallowing his claim for a refund because the law does not permit the IRS to refund taxes that are paid more than three years before the filing date of the tax return or refund claim. In other words, once taxes are paid, a taxpayer has three years within which to either file a tax return or some other claim seeking a refund. In the case at bar, plaintiff delayed for approximately fourteen years before he sought to make a claim for a refund of the $78.52. The timely filing of an administrative claim for a refund is a jurisdictional prerequisite to prosecuting a lawsuit in federal district court to obtain a refund. Yuen v. United States, 825 F.2d 244, 245 (9th Cir.1987); Boyd v. United States, 762 F.2d 1369 (9th Cir.1985); Beard v. IRS, 624 F.Supp. 646, 647 (E.D.Tenn.1985); McConnell v. United States, 295 F.Supp. 605 (E.D.Tenn.1969). The Court agrees with defendant that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiff’s refund claim because plaintiff did not file his claim with the IRS within the applicable time limits.

26 U.S.C. § 6511 provides in part:

(a) Period of limitation on filing claim.

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

Related

In Re Shapiro
188 B.R. 140 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 1995)
Shapiro v. United States Internal Revenue Service
188 B.R. 140 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 1995)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
763 F. Supp. 275, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1672, 1991 WL 75394, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/willingham-v-united-states-tned-1991.