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Laing v. United States, Civ. A. No. 6661 (D. Vt. Sept. 12, 1973) — Summary

Factual and Procedural Background

The plaintiff, a citizen of New Zealand, entered the United States on a B-2 visa on May 31, 1972. On June 24, 1972 he and two companions departed the United States for Canada but were refused entry into Canada and returned to the United States. At the U.S.-Canada border in Derby, Vermont, U.S. Customs officials stopped the plaintiffs' vehicle and found a suitcase in the engine compartment containing approximately $310,000 (the Government's affidavits state the actual seized amount was $306,896.50). The plaintiff, his companions, and the money were detained.

Customs notified the IRS. Fulton Fields, District Director for the IRS in Burlington, concluded that the individuals were attempting to remove assets from the country in a manner that would "prejudice or render ineffectual the collection of the tax" and thereby terminated the 1972 taxable years of the three persons. Two IRS agents were dispatched to the border, orally communicated assessments of $310,000 to each person after contacting the IRS Service Center, and seized $306,896.50 from the suitcase to apply to the tax liabilities. On June 29, 1972 Edward Gallagher, Acting Director of the IRS in Burlington, sent the plaintiff a written declaration under 26 U.S.C. § 6851 terminating the 1972 taxable year and assessing a tax of $195,985.55 for January 1, 1972 to June 24, 1972; that letter was returned as undeliverable.

Procedurally, the plaintiff filed this action on July 15, 1972 seeking injunctive relief against the IRS's continued possession of the money and a declaratory judgment that the Code provisions used were unconstitutional. The Government moved to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. Hearings were held on October 24, 1972 and July 31, 1973. The court considered the facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and received and considered affidavits filed by the Government. The court ultimately granted the Government's motion to dismiss.

Legal Issues Presented

  1. Whether the procedures used by the IRS summarily deprived the plaintiff of property without a hearing in violation of the Fifth Amendment.
  2. Whether the IRS's assessment and levy on the plaintiff's money conformed to the applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (including whether the procedures of 26 U.S.C. § 6213(a) and § 6861 applied).
  3. Assuming statutory procedures were followed, whether the IRS acted arbitrarily and capriciously in seizing the plaintiff's money (i.e., whether the jeopardy determination under 26 U.S.C. § 6851 was reviewable and whether it had an adequate factual basis).

Arguments of the Parties

Plaintiff's Arguments

  • The IRS's summary procedures deprived the plaintiff of property without a hearing in violation of the Fifth Amendment.
  • The IRS did not follow the Internal Revenue Code's required procedures for assessment and levy; specifically, plaintiff asserted that the restrictions in 26 U.S.C. § 6213(a) (which governs deficiency procedures) apply and that any immediate levy must proceed under § 6861, which the plaintiff claims was not followed because no deficiency notice was sent.
  • Even if the IRS properly followed the Code, the agency acted arbitrarily and capriciously in seizing the funds and in declaring jeopardy.

Government's Arguments

  • The plaintiff's request for declaratory relief is barred by the Declaratory Judgment Act because that Act excludes controversies concerning federal taxes; therefore declaratory relief is unavailable.
  • The IRS proceeded under 26 U.S.C. § 6851 (jeopardy termination of taxable year), so the procedures of § 6861 and the protections of § 6213(a) are irrelevant and do not permit injunctive relief under 26 U.S.C. § 7421(a) (the anti-injunction statute).
  • The summary assessment and levy procedure in this context is constitutionally permissible and does not violate due process; the IRS's jeopardy determination under § 6851 is presumptive evidence of jeopardy and is not subject to review in injunction proceedings.

Table of Precedents Cited

Precedent Rule or Principle Cited For Application by the Court
United States v. Teitelbaum, 342 F.2d 672 (7th Cir. 1965), cert. denied 382 U.S. 831 Support for the proposition that the Declaratory Judgment Act does not permit federal courts to enter declaratory judgments in controversies concerning federal taxes. Used to hold plaintiff's attempt at declaratory relief barred for tax controversies.
Standard Oil Co. (N.J.) v. McMahon, 139 F. Supp. 690 (S.D.N.Y. 1956), aff'd 244 F.2d 11 (2d Cir. 1956) Also cited in support of the inapplicability of the Declaratory Judgment Act to federal tax controversies. Reinforced the dismissal of plaintiff's declaratory judgment claim.
Phillips v. Commissioner, 283 U.S. 589 (1931) Establishes that summary attachment (levy) for collection of internal revenue is constitutionally permissible and does not violate due process. Applied to reject the plaintiff's claim that a hearing was required before seizure.
Parrish v. Daly, 350 F. Supp. 735 (S.D. Ind. 1972) Supports the proposition that summary attachment for tax collection is permissible. Used with Phillips to conclude no pre-seizure hearing was constitutionally required.
Fuentes v. Shevin, 407 U.S. 67, 91-92 (1972) Recent Supreme Court treatment cited as a reaffirmation of the principle in Phillips concerning summary procedures (as cited by the court). Referenced to show that Phillips had been recently reaffirmed and to support that summary collection is constitutionally permissible in the tax context.
Irving v. Gray, 479 F.2d 20 (2d Cir. 1973) Holds that § 6861 and § 6213(a) do not apply to jeopardy assessments made under § 6851 for departing or concealing taxpayers. Relied on to conclude § 6861 is inapplicable here and that the IRS may proceed under § 6851; the court found Irving persuasive authority.
Williamson v. United States, No. 17992 (7th Cir. filed Apr. 8, 1971) Cited as another case where courts refused to restrain collection and assessment despite different chronology of events. Used to support the conclusion that procedural variations did not warrant injunctive relief.
United States v. Oliver, 421 F.2d 1034 (10th Cir. 1970) Holds that a levy under § 6331 need not be by written notice; oral notice and demand may suffice. Applied to support the court's determination that oral assessment/notice and personal notice are legally sufficient in this jeopardy context.
United States v. Bernstein, 287 F. Supp. 84 (S.D. Fla. 1968) Also holds that property levied and seized under § 6331 need not involve written notice; actual notice and demand are sufficient. Used with Oliver to justify oral communications and personal notice in effectuating the levy.
Lucia v. United States, 474 F.2d 565 (5th Cir. 1973) Involves requirement of factual basis for certain assessments (distinguished by the court). Distinguished: court noted Lucia involved assessments under § 6862(a) for wagering taxes—not jeopardy assessments under § 6851—so Lucia did not control this case.
Pizzarello v. United States, 408 F.2d 579 (2d Cir. 1969) Addressed factual basis for assessments (distinguished by the court). Distinguished on the ground that it involved § 6862(a) wagering tax assessments rather than § 6851 jeopardy assessments.
United States v. Bonaguro, 294 F. Supp. 750 (E.D.N.Y. 1968), aff'd sub nom. United States v. Dono, 428 F.2d 204 (2d Cir. 1970), cert. denied 400 U.S. 829 Holds that a finding under § 6851 that jeopardy exists is presumptive evidence of jeopardy and is not subject to review in injunction proceedings. Cited to support the court's conclusion that the IRS's jeopardy determination under § 6851 is presumptively valid and not open to inquiry in this injunction action.
United States v. Dono, 428 F.2d 204 (2d Cir. 1970) Affirmance supporting Bonaguro's holding regarding § 6851's presumptive effect. Used to reinforce the nonreviewability of the IRS's § 6851 jeopardy finding in injunction proceedings.
Transport Mfg. & Equipment Co. of Del. v. Trainor, 382 F.2d 793 (8th Cir. 1967) Referenced as similar authority concerning nonreviewability of revenue collection procedures in injunction contexts. Supplementary authority cited to support the court's stance that § 6851 procedures limit judicial review in this context.
Clark v. Campbell, 341 F. Supp. 171 (N.D. Tex. 1972) Another case cited in the same context of nonreviewability and procedural sufficiency for jeopardy actions. Used as additional support for the court's treatment of § 6851-related determinations as presumptive and not reviewable by injunction.
Enochs v. Williams Packing Co., 370 U.S. 1 (1962) Announces a judicially created doctrine (the Enochs test) relating to when injunctions against tax collection may be appropriate (i.e., when it is clear the Government cannot ultimately prevail). The court found Enochs inapplicable because it was not "far from clear" that the Government could not ultimately prevail here; thus the Enochs exception to § 7421 was not available to plaintiff.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The court's analysis proceeded in discrete steps anchored on statutory interpretation, precedent, and constitutional doctrine as follows:

  1. Declaratory relief barred: The court first concluded that the Declaratory Judgment Act, as interpreted by precedent, excludes controversies concerning federal taxes. Consequently, the plaintiff's request for a declaratory judgment was not cognizable. (Citing United States v. Teitelbaum and Standard Oil.)
  2. Due process challenge rejected: The court determined that summary attachment and levy procedures for collecting internal revenue do not violate the Fifth Amendment's due process requirements and therefore no pre-seizure hearing was required. The court relied on Phillips v. Commissioner and related authorities, and noted that Phillips had been recently reaffirmed by Fuentes v. Shevin as cited in the opinion. Parrish v. Daly was cited as consistent authority.
  3. Statutory framework and threshold issue—Which statute applies? The decisive statutory inquiry was whether the IRS acted under 26 U.S.C. § 6851 (termination of taxable year and jeopardy procedures) or under § 6861 (jeopardy assessment of a deficiency) and whether the protections of § 6213(a) (the deficiency notice obstacle to injunctions) were implicated. The court explained that a "deficiency" is defined by § 6211(a) as the amount by which statutory tax exceeds tax shown on a return, and in the absence of a filed return (or expiration of the filing due date) there can be no "deficiency." Because no return had been filed, § 6861 could not apply.
  4. Precedent controlling application of § 6851: Irving v. Gray was cited as directly holding that § 6861 and § 6213(a) do not apply to jeopardy assessments made pursuant to § 6851 for departing or concealing taxpayers. The court adopted Irving's reasoning and relied on it to conclude that the IRS properly proceeded under § 6851.
  5. Oral actions and notice sufficiency: The court addressed plaintiff's objection that certain steps had been oral rather than written. It concluded that neither § 6851 nor related statutory provisions (e.g., §§ 6303 and 6155) require written notice in all circumstances, and that § 6331 permits personal notice and levy. The court cited United States v. Oliver and United States v. Bernstein for the proposition that notice and demand need not be in writing for a lawful levy.
  6. Nonreviewability and presumptive evidence of jeopardy: The court emphasized that § 6851(a) provides that the finding of the Secretary or his delegate that jeopardy exists is "presumptive evidence of jeopardy." Citing Bonaguro (and the Dono affirmance) and other authorities, the court concluded that when the IRS proceeds under § 6851, its factual determination and its sufficiency are not subject to review in injunction proceedings. The court therefore rejected the plaintiff's claim that the Government had not presented enough factual basis for the jeopardy determination.
  7. Scope of inquiry and protective order: The court found the Government's affidavits sufficiently explicit to show that the procedures were proper and adequate; it concluded that further deposition discovery into IRS officials' motivations or the detailed factual bases for jeopardy was not relevant to the jurisdictional and procedural issues before the court. Accordingly, the court granted a protective order barring the plaintiff's noticed depositions of IRS officials.
  8. Enochs doctrine not applicable: The court considered the Enochs v. Williams Packing Co. doctrine (which creates a narrow judicial exception to § 7421) and determined it did not apply because it was not "far from clear" that the Government could not ultimately prevail. Thus the Enochs exception did not permit an injunction here.

Holding and Implications

Holding: The court granted the Government's motion to dismiss the plaintiff's action.

Implications and direct effects:

  • The plaintiff's request for a declaratory judgment was dismissed because the Declaratory Judgment Act excludes federal tax controversies.
  • The plaintiff's constitutional due process claim challenging the lack of a pre-seizure hearing was rejected in light of precedent permitting summary attachment and levies in tax-collection contexts.
  • The court held that the IRS properly proceeded under 26 U.S.C. § 6851; because no return had been filed, § 6861 and the protections of § 6213(a) did not apply. The IRS's jeopardy determination under § 6851 is presumptive and not subject to inquiry in this injunction suit.
  • The court entered a protective order precluding depositions of IRS officials as unnecessary to the jurisdictional and procedural issues resolved.
  • The decision did not announce a novel rule of law; rather it applied existing statute and precedent to deny injunctive and declaratory relief. The court explicitly noted that the dismissal does not foreclose the plaintiff from seeking redress in subsequently presented proceedings that are proper in jurisdiction and procedure.

This summary is based exclusively on the contents of the opinion provided and does not add facts or inferences beyond what the court's opinion states.

James Burnett McKay LAING v. UNITED STATES of America et al.

OPINION AND ORDER

COFFRIN, District Judge.

On July 15, 1972 plaintiff filed an action seeking an injunction against the continued possession by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of money allegedly belonging to him and a declaratory judgment that the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code under which the assessment and levy on his property were made were unconstitutional. A flurry of motions to accelerate the course of this proceeding were filed shortly after the complaint and plaintiff attempted to depose various federal officials which the Government vigorously opposed. On September 18, 1972 the IRS filed a motion to dismiss or in the alternative for summary judgment. Hearings were held on the various motions on October 24, 1972 and July 31, 1973. Taking the facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and from the affidavits filed by the Government which plaintiff concedes are accurate as far as they go, we find the following factual situation before us. On May 31, 1972 plaintiff, a citizen of New Zealand, entered the United States from Canada on a B-2 visa. On June 24, 1972 plaintiff and two companions departed from the United States to Canada by way of Vermont but were refused entry into Canada by Canadian officials. As a result, plaintiff returned to the United States where he was stopped by U.S. Customs officials at Derby, Vermont. A suitcase containing approximately $310,000 was found in the engine compartment of the automobile and plaintiff, his companions and the money were detained at the border. On the same day, Fulton Fields, the District Director for IRS in Burlington, Vermont, was advised by customs officials of the above facts and, relying on them, found that plaintiff and those with him were in the process of putting their assets beyond the reach of the Government by removing them from the country thereby tending to prejudice or render ineffectual the collection of the tax. Upon making this finding, Fields terminated the 1972 taxable years of the three individuals and sent two IRS agents, Joseph O'Kane, Chief of the Intelligence Division, IRS, Burlington, Vermont, and James Perry, Assistant Chief of the Collection and Taxpayer Service Division, Internal Revenue Service, Boston, Massachusetts, to the border to take the steps necessary to collect the tax liabilities of these persons. Upon arriving at the border, the IRS agents interviewed plaintiff and his associates and demanded payment of tax from each in the amount of $310,000. Upon their refusal, the agents contacted the IRS Service Center in Andover, Massachusetts, and requested and orally received a tax assessment upon each person in the amount of $310,000. These assessments were communicated orally to the plaintiff by the IRS agents and after a second refusal, the sum of $306,896.50 was seized from the suitcase and applied to the tax liabilities of each person in the car.

8 C.F.R. § 214.2(b) (1973).

According to IRS affidavits, the actual amount seized was $306,896.50, but plaintiff claims he was in possession of $310,000.

On June 29, 1972, Edward Gallagher, Acting Director of IRS in Burlington, Vermont, sent plaintiff a written declaration made pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 6851 that plaintiff was placing his assets beyond the reach of the Government and thus his taxable year 1972 was terminated and a tax of $195,985.55 for the period from January 1, 1972 to June 24, 1972 was assessed and made payable. This letter was sent to the address plaintiff gave U.S. Customs officials but it was returned to IRS "addressee unknown — no such street and number."

26 U.S.C. § 6851(a)(1) provides that:
(a) Income tax in jeopardy. —

(1) In general. — If the Secretary or his delegate finds that a taxpayer designs quickly to depart from the United States or to remove his property therefrom, or to conceal himself or his property therein, or to do any other act tending to prejudice or to render wholly or partly ineffectual proceedings to collect the income tax for the current or the preceding taxable year unless such proceedings be brought without delay, the Secretary or his delegate shall declare the taxable period for such taxpayer immediately terminated, and shall cause notice of such finding and declaration to be given the taxpayer, together with a demand for immediate payment of the tax for the taxable period so declared terminated and of the tax for the preceding taxable year or so much of such tax as is unpaid, whether or not the time otherwise allowed by law for filing return and paying the tax has expired; and such taxes shall thereupon become immediately due and payable. In any proceeding in court brought to enforce payment of taxes made due and payable by virtue of the provisions of this section, the finding of the Secretary or his delegate, made as herein provided, whether made after notice to the taxpayer or not, shall be for all purposes presumptive evidence of jeopardy.


The plethora of theories relied upon by plaintiff can be reduced to three major contentions:

1). That the procedures employed by the IRS summarily deprived plaintiff of his property without a hearing in contravention of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution;

2). The IRS's assessment of tax and levy of plaintiff's money was not in conformity with the applicable sections of the Internal Revenue Code and thus injunctive relief is warranted.

3). Assuming the IRS properly followed the Code, it acted arbitrarily and capriciously in seizing plaintiff's money.

Plaintiff's effort to obtain declaratory relief in this action must fail because the plain wording of the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201, 2202, specifically excludes controversies concerning federal taxes. Thus, questions involving federal taxes may not be considered under the declaratory judgment section and the federal courts are without jurisdiction to enter declaratory judgments in such cases. United States v. Teitelbaum, 342 F.2d 672 (7th Cir. 1965), cert. denied, 382 U.S. 831, 86 S.Ct. 71, 15 L.Ed.2d 75 (1965); Standard Oil Co. (N.J.) v. McMahon, 139 F. Supp. 690 (S.D.N Y 1956), aff'd, 244 F.2d 11 (2d Cir. 1956).

It is also settled beyond controversy that summary attachment for the collection of internal revenue is constitutionally permissible and does not run afoul of the procedural requirements of due process. Thus, no hearing was required before plaintiff's property was seized. Phillips v. Commissioner, 283 U.S. 589, 51 S.Ct. 608, 75 L.Ed. 1289 (1931); Parrish v. Daly, 350 F. Supp. 735 (S.D.Ind. 1972). The holding in Phillips v. Commissioner, supra, was recently reaffirmed in Fuentes v. Shevin, 407 U.S. 67, 91-92, 92 S.Ct. 1983, 32 L.Ed.2d 556 (1972).

Plaintiff's constitutional and declaratory judgment contentions being fruitless, his case must rise or fall solely on the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. In seeking to restrain the assessment or collection of a tax, plaintiff must come within one of the narrow exceptions to the anti-injunction provisions of 26 U.S.C. § 7421(a). Plaintiff contends that the exception to the broad anti-injunction provisions of Section 7421(a) contained in 26 U.S.C. § 6213(a) places restrictions on deficiency assessments and plaintiff argues that section 6213(a) prohibits immediate levies with no waiting period for the collection of tax except as provided in 26 U.S.C. § 6861. Accordingly, plaintiff contends IRS was forced to proceed under section 6861 and, since the IRS never sent plaintiff a deficiency notice as provided in section 6861, the IRS did not follow the legislatively mandated procedures and thus injunctive relief can be had under section 7421(a).

26 U.S.C. § 6861(a) provides that:

(a) Authority for Making. — If the Secretary or his delegate believes that the assessment or collection of a deficiency, as defined in section 6211, will be jeopardized by delay, he shall, notwithstanding the provisions of section 6213(a), immediately assess such deficiency (together with all interest, additional amounts, and additions to the tax provided for by law), and notice and demand shall be made by the Secretary or his delegate for the payment thereof.

The Government argues that since it proceeded under 26 U.S.C. § 6851 the procedures required in section 6861 are irrelevant, the section 6213(a) exception to the anti-injunction statute is inapposite and therefore plaintiff's action must be dismissed.

The threshold inquiry therefore becomes whether section 6851 or section 6861 is applicable to this controversy. Section 6851 provides for the termination of a taxable year and demand for an immediate payment of tax where jeopardy, i.e. prejudice against collection, is deemed present by IRS. In contrast, section 6861 provides for the jeopardy assessment of a deficiency in tax as defined by 26 U.S.C. § 6211(a). Generally, a deficiency is defined by section 6211(a) as the amount by which the tax imposed by statute exceeds the amount of tax shown on a taxpayer's return. By definition then, such a deficiency could not be determined until a return for a taxpayer's full taxable period has been filed or until the due date for filing such a return has expired. In this case, there was no return filed by the taxpayer and so there could be no deficiency. Since there was no deficiency there could be no deficiency assessment and consequently section 6861 cannot apply in this case.

Irving v. Gray, 479 F.2d 20 (2nd Cir. 1973) holds that section 6861 and section 6213(a) do not apply in the case of a jeopardy assessment made in respect to a departing or concealing taxpayer assessed under section 6851. See also Williamson v. United States, No. 17992 (7th Cir. filed April 8, 1971); Parrish v. Daly, supra.

Section 6851 does not contain its own assessment authority but, contrary to plaintiff's contention, this section derives its assessment authority from 26 U.S.C. § 6201. Irving v. Gray, supra.

Plaintiff contends that Irving is not binding precedent because in that case there was no attack on the procedure used by IRS nor was there any question of the arbitrariness of the IRS's determination that a jeopardy assessment should be made.

With regard to plaintiff's first profferred distinction, we note the similarity of the chronology of the IRS's action in this case and in Irving, both of which in our opinion satisfy the provision of 26 U.S.C. § 6331(a), the general levy and distraint provisions of the Code. Since we have previously determined that the summary assessment and levy procedure is not constitutionally impermissible, we reject plaintiff's argument that the procedures employed by the Government in this case were improper.

Although Irving involved a written termination of the taxable year, notice of levy and assessment of tax, we do not believe the oral effectuation of these procedures is improper. Section 6851 does not, by its terms, require a writing and neither 26 U.S.C. § 6303 (notice and demand for tax) nor 26 U.S.C. § 6155 (payment on notice and demand) require a writing. Also, the levy and distraint provisions of section 6331 permit a levy to be made by giving notice in person. See United States v. Oliver, 421 F.2d 1034 (10th Cir. 1970) and United States v. Bernstein, 287 F. Supp. 84 (S.D.Fla. 1968) which hold that property levied upon and seized under section 6331 need not be accomplished by written notice, actual notice and demand are sufficient. Finally, we perceive that the nature of the jeopardy proceeding under section 6851 is not suited to the cumbersome requirements of written notice, cf. Irving v. Gray, supra ("Section 6851 was enacted to allow IRS to prevent taxpayers from fleeing the country with taxable funds. . . . Under such circumstances, Congress has given IRS a little leeway to protect the revenues.")

We also note that even though the chronology in Williamson v. United States, supra, does not follow section 6331 the court refused to restrain the collection and assessment of the tax.

We also reject plaintiff's challenge to the arbitrariness of the IRS's determination that there was jeopardy against the collection of these taxes which justified the termination of the taxable year. Plaintiff, relying upon Lucia v. United States, 474 F.2d 565 (5th Cir. 1973) and Pizzarello v. United States, 408 F.2d 579 (2d Cir. 1969), contends that the Government must have some basis in fact for the seizure and absent proof of this, no assessment can be made. Lucia and Pizzarello are patently distinguishable from this case because they do not involve jeopardy assessments under section 6851 but rather assessments under 26 U.S.C. § 6862(a) for unpaid wagering taxes.

The distinction is crucial because, unlike section 6862(a), section 6851(a) provides that the finding of the secretary or his delegate that jeopardy is present is presumptive evidence of jeopardy. Thus, where the IRS, in the interest of collecting revenue, proceeds by proper steps under section 6851, its determination of the facts and their sufficiency to warrant resort to peremptory collection are not to be reviewed in injunction proceedings. United States v. Bonaguro, 294 F. Supp. 750, 753 (E.D.N.Y. 1968), aff'd sub nom. United States v. Dono, 428 F.2d 204 (2d Cir. 1970), cert. denied, 400 U.S. 829, 91 S.Ct. 57, 27 L.Ed.2d 59 (1970). See also Transport Mfg. and Equipment Co. of Del. v. Trainor, 382 F.2d 793 (8th Cir. 1967); Clark v. Campbell, 341 F. Supp. 171 (N.D.Tex. 1972). In this connection plaintiff does not attack the veracity of the affidavits filed by the Government describing the procedures employed in the assessment and levy but contends that they do not go far enough because they do not elucidate the factual basis for the Government's jeopardy determination under section 6851 which necessarily concludes that plaintiff was a person liable to pay tax. We disagree. This proceeding is not a proper vehicle for this challenge and we conclude that the affidavits are sufficiently explicit to enable the court to determine without doubt that the Government's procedures were proper and adequate. We determine that further exploration of the IRS's motivation for the assessment would not affect our decision concerning jurisdiction and is thus not relevant to any of the issues before the court in this particular proceeding. We therefore grant defendant's motion for a protective order barring the taking of depositions of the IRS officials noticed by plaintiff.

From what we have said, it is apparent that the judicially created doctrine announced in Enochs v. Williams Packing Co., 370 U.S. 1, 82 S.Ct. 1125, 8 L.Ed.2d 292 (1962) is inapplicable because it is far from clear that "under no circumstances could the Government ultimately prevail" in this case.

In light of the foregoing we grant the Government's motion to dismiss but we do point out that this decision does not foreclose plaintiff's opportunity for redress in subsequent proceedings presented to the court in a proper jurisdictional and procedural posture.

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LAING v. UNITED STATES, (D.Vt. 1973)
(Sep 12, 1973)