Flaherty v. President of the United States

• Decision Date: 13 July 2011
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 11–124 (RBW).
• Parties: Michael William FLAHERTY, Plaintiff, v. PRESIDENT OF the UNITED STATES, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

796 F.Supp.2d 201

Michael William FLAHERTY, Plaintiff,

v.PRESIDENT OF the UNITED STATES, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 11–124 (RBW).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

July 13, 2011.

Michael William Flaherty, Williamsburg, VA, pro se.

Andrew C. Strelka, Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

REGGIE B. WALTON, District Judge.

Michael William Flaherty, the pro se plaintiff in this civil case, seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to enforce his right to prompt disclosure of government agency records under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(A)(ii) (2006). Complaint (“Compl.”) at 2. Currently before the Court is the Internal Revenue Service's (“IRS”) motion to substitute itself as the named defendant, to dismiss all other defendants from this case, and to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) based on the plaintiff's failure to exhaust his administrative remedies. ¹ For the reasons that follow, the Court concludes that it must grant the IRS's motion to substitute the IRS as the named defendant and to dismiss all other defendants from this case, and grant the IRS's (hereinafter the “defendant”) motion to dismiss.²

I. BACKGROUND

Over the course of five years, the plaintiff submitted what he maintains were four separate FOIA requests to the IRS concerning “government assessments” of tax records. Compl. ¶ 13. The plaintiff made these purported FOIA requests in order to access information allegedly material to his defense in a separate claim filed against him by the United States.³ Id. ¶¶ 25–30, 35–36.

The first request made by the plaintiff to the IRS is dated May 30, 2005, and was addressed to the IRS Fresno Campus Disclosure Office. McBrearty Decl. ¶ 5; Gov't Ex. 1 (May 30, 2005). The plaintiff requested from the defendant a copy of “Treasury/IRS 24.030 CADE Individual Master File (IMF), (Formerly: Individual Master File (IMF)[ ) ] [and] Treasury/IRS 34.037 IRS Audit Trail and Security Records System from 1999 to present.” McBrearty Decl. ¶ 5; Gov't Ex. 1 (May 30, 2005). In a letter dated June 9, 2005, the Fresno Disclosure Office sent the plaintiff twenty pages of IMF MCC Specific and Literal Transcripts that it deemed responsive to his request.⁴ McBrearty Decl. ¶ 6; Gov't Ex. 2 (June 9, 2005). The letter advised the plaintiff that there would be “considerable fees” associated with a search of his audit trail, and therefore, before beginning the search, the IRS would need a guarantee that these fees would be paid and that any cost over $250.00 would be prepaid. McBrearty Decl. ¶ 6; Gov't Ex. 2 (June 9, 2005). According to the defendant, “nothing in the IRS disclosure file” indicated that the plaintiff responded to the Fresno Campus Disclosure Office's request for a “firm commitment” to pay for audit trail fees. McBrearty Decl. ¶ 7.

The plaintiff's second request to the IRS is dated November 24, 2008, and was addressed to the Fresno Campus Disclosure Office. McBrearty Decl. ¶ 8; Gov't Ex. 3 (November 24, 2008). The plaintiff requested “copies of the actual Audit, Summary Record and Lien against [him] or any document with a IRS assessment officer agent's signature.” McBrearty Decl. ¶ 8; Gov't Ex. 3 (November 24, 2008). In a letter dated December 5, 2008, the Fresno Disclosure Office asked the plaintiff to provide additional information in order to establish his identity, such as a copy of a driver's license, and his social security number. McBrearty Decl. ¶ 9; Gov't Ex. 4 (December 5, 2008). According to the defendant, “nothing in the IRS disclosure file indicates that [the plaintiff] responded to the Fresno Disclosure Office's request for plaintiff to establish his identity and to provide his social security number.” McBrearty Decl. ¶ 10.

The third request from the plaintiff to the IRS is dated December 15, 2008, and was addressed to the Laguna Nigel Disclosure Office. McBrearty Decl. ¶ 11; Gov't Ex. 5 (December 15, 2008). The plaintiff requested “a copy of any document in [his] individual Master File with an assessment officer's signature and date on it for the years 1999, 2000, and 2001.” McBrearty Decl. ¶ 11; Gov't Ex. 5 (December 15, 2008). In a letter dated January 26, 2009, the Laguna Nigel Disclosure Office sent the plaintiff twelve pages of account transcripts, but informed him that the IRS was “unable to find any documents specifically responsive to [his] request.” McBrearty Decl. ¶ 12; Gov't Ex. 6 (January 26, 2009). Enclosed in the letter was a notification of the plaintiff's appeal rights. Gov't Ex. 6 (January 26, 2009). Also on January 26, 2009, the plaintiff called a Disclosure Specialist to discuss this request. McBrearty Decl. ¶ 13; Gov't Ex. 7 (January 28, 2009). The Disclosure Specialist explained to the plaintiff what documents would be sent to him in response to his request and “directed [the plaintiff] to call the Taxpayer Advocate if he had any further concerns.” McBrearty Decl. ¶ 13; see Gov't Ex. 7 (January 28, 2009). The defendant maintains that the plaintiff did not file an administrative appeal regarding this request. See McBrearty Decl. ¶ 17.

The plaintiff's fourth request to the IRS is dated January 28, 2009, and was also addressed to the Laguna Nigel Disclosure Office. McBrearty Decl. ¶ 14; Gov't Ex. 7 (January 28, 2009). The plaintiff requested “any document in [his] Individual Master File with an Assessment Officer's signature and date on it for the years 1999, 2000, and 2001,” as well as a document entitled Preparation of Seizure Disposition 6670 Report. McBrearty Decl. ¶ 14; Gov't Ex. 7 (January 28, 2009). The plaintiff requested expedited treatment for this request. McBrearty Decl. ¶ 14; Gov't Ex. 7 (January 28, 2009). In a letter dated February 5, 2009, the Laguna Nigel Disclosure Office denied his request for expedited processing and included a notice of the plaintiff's administrative appeal rights. McBrearty Decl. ¶ 15; Gov't Ex. 8 (February 5, 2009). In a separate letter dated February 11, 2009, the Laguna Nigel Disclosure Office sent the plaintiff fifteen pages of Revenue Accounting Control System (“RACS”) reports and account transcripts for the tax years 1999, 2000, and 2001, but informed him that there were no documents responsive to his request for Form 6670. McBrearty Decl. ¶ 16; Gov't Ex. 9 (February 11, 2009). According to the IRS, the plaintiff did not file an administrative appeal regarding this request. See McBrearty Decl. ¶ 17.

The plaintiff filed this case on January 19, 2011. See Compl. He alleges that “despite these repeated requests ... no procedurally correct, signed assessment was ever produced....” Id. ¶ 14. The plaintiff asserts that his administrative remedies were exhausted within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. § 552 when the IRS Disclosure Office failed to reply to his third request in a timely manner. Id. ¶ 16. In response, the IRS asserts that it should be substituted as the sole named defendant in this case, and that all other defendants should be dismissed because the case concerns only the requests made by the plaintiff to the IRS and because the FOIA only authorizes claims against agencies, not individuals. See Def.'s Mem. at 5. The IRS further contends that the plaintiff's failure to file any administrative appeals with the IRS demonstrates his failure to exhaust his administrative remedies. Def.'s Mot. at 2; Def.'s Mem. at 7.

II. STANDARDS OF REVIEW

A. Rule 12(b)(6)

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) provides for the dismissal of an action where a complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Where the sufficiency of a complaint is challenged under 12(b)(6), all the factual allegations must be presumed true and liberally construed in the plaintiff's favor. Porter v. CIA, 778 F.Supp.2d 60, 65, No. 10–cv–050 (JEB), 2011 WL 1497648, at *3 (D.C.Cir. April 21, 2011) (citing Leatherman v. Tarrant Cnty. Narcotics and Coordination Unit, 507 U.S. 163, 113 S.Ct. 1160, 122 L.Ed.2d 517 (1993)). Despite this liberal standard, a court must not, “accept inferences drawn by plaintiffs if such inferences are unsupported by the facts set out in the complaint.” Voinche v. Obama, 744 F.Supp.2d 165 (D.D.C.2010) (quoting Kowal v. MCI Commc'ns Corp., 16 F.3d 1271, 1276 (D.C.Cir.1994)). Therefore, in evaluating a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the complaint must plead “factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Atherton v. D.C. Office of the Mayor, 567 F.3d 672, 681 (D.C.Cir.2009) (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, ––––, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009)). This standard requires “more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully; a complaint alleging facts that are merely consistent with a defendant's liability ... stops short of the line between possibility and plausibility of entitlement to relief.” Voinche, 744 F.Supp.2d at 170 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted) (quoting Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1949).

B. Pro Se Litigants

The pleadings of pro se parties are to be “liberally construed, and a pro se complaint, however inartfully pleaded, must be held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). However, even though a pro se complaint must be construed liberally, the complaint must still “present a claim on which the Court can grant relief.” Chandler v. Roche, 215 F.Supp.2d 166, 168 (D.D.C.2002) (citing Crisafi v. Holland, 655 F.2d 1305, 1308 (D.C.Cir.1981)).

III. LEGAL ANALYSIS

A. The Defendant's Motion to Substitute Named Defendants

The first issue for the Court to address is whether an individual public official can be named as a defendant in a FOIA claim. The FOIA itself makes clear that it authorizes suits only...