HANNA KARCHO POLSELLI; ABRAHAM & ROSE, P.L.C.; JERRY R. ABRAHAM, P.C. v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY–INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE - Articles

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HANNA KARCHO POLSELLI; ABRAHAM & ROSE, P.L.C.; JERRY R. ABRAHAM, P.C. v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY–INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Jan 7, 2022

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ON BRIEF: Daniel W. Weininger, ABRAHAM & ROSE, P.L.C., Troy, Michigan, for Appellants.

Attorneys 2: ON BRIEF: Michael J. Haungs, Geoffrey J. Klimas, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Appellee.

Judge(s): MOORE, KETHLEDGE, and DONALD, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Flint

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge. In pursuit of over $2 million of a taxpayer’s unpaid liabilities, the IRS issued administrative summonses to the banks of the taxpayer’s wife and lawyers, Petitioners in this case. The IRS did not notify Petitioners of the summonses, relying on relevant provisions of the Internal Revenue Code excluding summonses issued “in aid of the collection” of tax assessments from its notice provisions. We conclude that the summonses were issued in aid of the IRS’s collection efforts and that Petitioners were not entitled to notice. Because the United States waives sovereign immunity only when a taxpayer entitled to notice challenges a summons, the district court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over Petitioners’ proceedings to quash the summonses. Accordingly, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.

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