Glass v. Internal Revenue Service , 21 F. App'x 870 ( 2001 )

F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS NOV 5 2001
TENTH CIRCUIT PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
ELEANOR M. GLASS,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v. No. 01-2112
(D.C. No. CIV-00-1563)
INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE; (New Mexico)
ROY ROMERO, Associate Chief of
the Internal Revenue Service,
Defendants-Appellees.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before SEYMOUR, McKAY, and BRORBY, Circuit Judges.
Ms. Eleanor M. Glass, proceeding pro se, appeals the district court’s
dismissal of her case. Ms. Glass brought suit in district court under the Internal
Revenue Code and the U.S. Constitution against agents of the Internal Revenue
*
After examining appellant’s brief and the appellate record, this panel has
determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the
determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2) and 10th Cir. R.
34.1(G). The case is therefore submitted without oral argument. This order and
judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case,
res judicata, or collateral estoppel. The court generally disfavors the citation of
orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order and judgment may be cited under the
terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
Service (IRS) contesting that agency’s determination of her liability for income
taxes, seeking to halt the agency’s collection efforts, and claiming the agency
violated her Constitutional and statutory procedural rights. The district court
dismissed her suit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The district court also
denied Ms. Glass’s motion requesting that the district court issue an order stating
its findings of fact and conclusions of law. For the reasons stated below, we
affirm the denial of the motion for a memorandum of decision, affirm the
dismissal of Ms. Glass’s other claims for lack of jurisdiction, but hold the suit
should have been dismissed “without prejudice.” 1
While appellant is correct that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(a)
requires that a court, in a trial without a jury, make findings of fact and
conclusions of law, that rule also provides that it is “sufficient if the findings of
fact and conclusions of law are stated orally and recorded in open court following
1
In addition to the district court’s dismissal on jurisdictional grounds and
its denial of the motion for a memorandum or opinion, Ms. Glass also raises
numerous substantive claims on appeal, which essentially dispute her liability
under the U.S. Tax Code and the power of and proper procedure for the IRS and
the Tax Court to determine and collect on this liability. These claims include
whether: 1) the Tax Court has authority to adjudicate whether a liability exists or
a deficiency exists; 2) Ms. Glass was denied her due process rights in the
administrative hearing provided by the agency; 3) the district court erred when it
defined her wages as income; 4) the IRS has used “proper procedures” in its
assessments of her tax liability; and 5) the IRS has adequately established the fact
and amount of her actual tax deficiency. Aplt. br. at 11-12. Because we affirm
the district court’s disposition of this case on jurisdictional grounds, as discussed
below, we do not reach the merits of Ms. Glass’s additional claims.
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the close of the evidence . . . .” Fed. R. Civ. P. 52(a). The district court stated in
its order denying Ms. Glass’s motion that its statements in open court would serve
as adequate statements of the court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law. We
agree these statements are adequate for this court to conclude that the basis for
the district court’s dismissal was lack of subject matter jurisdiction. We therefore
hold the district court did not err in denying Ms. Glass’s motion for a
memorandum or opinion providing in writing the factual and legal basis of the
dismissal.
We next address the jurisdictional issues. The Internal Revenue Service
notified Ms. Glass in 1998 that it had determined she was deficient in her tax
payments for failing to pay income tax for the years 1994-96. Ms. Glass was later
notified that the agency was pursuing a levy on her property to collect on the
alleged tax deficiency. After the IRS issued the levy determination notice, Ms.
Glass requested and obtained an administrative hearing with the agency, at which
she argued unsuccessfully that she has no tax liability under the Tax Code. Ms.
Glass then sought to challenge the IRS’s proceedings against her by bringing suit
in federal district court, alleging a host of statutory and constitutional violations.
The district court dismissed all of her claims with prejudice for lack of subject
matter jurisdiction.
The U.S. Tax Court has jurisdiction over many types of claims related to
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the Tax Code, Title 26. The Tax Court’s jurisdiction is exclusive for certain types
of claims, thus depriving the district court of jurisdiction over those claims. With
regard to Ms. Glass’s claims that she is not liable for taxes, the IRS determined
that she is liable for income taxes, a type of tax liability over which the Tax Court
has jurisdiction. 26 U.S.C. §§ 7441-42. See also 26 U.S.C. §§ 1, 61, 63
(imposing income tax liability, and defining gross income and taxable income).
The Tax Court has exclusive jurisdiction over petitions for the redetermination of
tax deficiencies, the means of challenging the merits of a tax deficiency
determination. 26 U.S.C. § 6213. With regard to Ms. Glass’s claim challenging
the levy on her property, the Tax Court has exclusive jurisdiction over appeals of
levy determinations as long as it has jurisdiction over the underlying tax liability
that the IRS has alleged. 26 U.S.C. § 6330(d)(1)(A). As stated above, the Tax
Court has jurisdiction over the underlying liability at issue in this case, so it also
has exclusive jurisdiction over Ms. Glass’s levy determination appeal. Therefore
the district court did not err in dismissing her claims under the Tax Code for lack
of jurisdiction.
Moreover, the district court has no jurisdiction over Ms. Glass’s
constitutional procedural due process claims. District courts have no jurisdiction
over civil claims challenging taxes unless litigants first pay the assessed tax and
then raise these claims in a refund suit. See 26 U.S.C. 7421(a) (prohibiting suits
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to restrain assessment or collection of taxes); see also Flora v. United States, 362
U.S. 145 (1960) (holding 28 U.S.C. § 1346(a), which gives district courts
jurisdiction over civil suits challenging tax assessments, requires full payment of
assessed tax prior to suit). Therefore, it was proper to dismiss these claims for
lack of jurisdiction as well.
The district court dismissed Ms. Glass’s claims with prejudice. However,
dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is not an adjudication on the
merits, and dismissal should have been without prejudice. See Figueroa v.
Buccaneer Hotel, Inc., 188 F.3d 172, 182 (3rd Cir. 1999) (holding claims
dismissed for lack of jurisdiction should be dismissed without prejudice even if
litigant may not later pursue those claims in federal court).
We AFFIRM the district court’s denial of the motion for a memorandum of
decision, AFFIRM the district court’s dismissal for lack of jurisdiction, but
REVERSE the district court’s dismissal with prejudice and REMAND to enable
the district court to dismiss this action without prejudice.
AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED.
ENTERED FOR THE COURT
Stephanie K. Seymour
Circuit Judge
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