Guralnik v. Comm'r, 146 T.C. No. 15
| Decision Date | 02 June 2016 |
| Docket Number | Docket No. 4358-15L.,146 T.C. No. 15 |
| Parties | FELIX GURALNIK, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent |
| Court | U.S. Tax Court |
R mailed P a Notice of Determination Concerning Collection Action(s) Under Section 6320 and/or 6330. On February 13, 2015, P sent his petition to this Court via Federal Express First Overnight service, which was not then a "designated delivery service" under I.R.C. sec. 7502(f)(2). P's petition was required to be filed "within 30 days of a determination under this section." I.R.C. sec. 6330(d)(1).
On the last date for timely filing of the petition, Tuesday, February 17, 2015, all Federal Government offices in the District of Columbia, including the Tax Court, were officially closed on account of Winter Storm Octavia. For that reason, P's petition could not be delivered to the Court on that day. P's petition was delivered to the Court and filed on Wednesday, February 18, 2015, when the Court reopened for business.
Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(a)(3)(A) provides that, "if the clerk's office is inaccessible * * * on the last day for filing * * *, then the time for filing is extended to the first accessible day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday." Tax Court Rule 25(a), dealing with computation of time, does not address how time shall be computed when the Clerk's Office is inaccessible. Tax Court Rule 1(b), however, provides: "Where in any instance there is no applicable rule of procedure, the Court or the Judge before whom the matter is pending may prescribe the procedure, giving particular weight to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to the extent that they are suitably adaptable to govern the matter at hand."
1. Held: The 30-day filing period prescribed by I.R.C. sec. 6330(d)(1) is jurisdictional and "equitable tolling" does not apply.
2. Held, further, P may not avail himself of the "timely mailed, timely filed" rule of I.R.C. sec. 7502(f) because Federal Express First Overnight service was not "designated by the Secretary" as an approved private delivery service as of the date on which P's petition was filed.
3. Held, further, in the absence of a Tax Court Rule prescribing the procedure when the Clerk's Office is inaccessible, the principles of Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(a)(3) are "suitably adaptable to govern the matter at hand." Because P's petition was filed on February 18, 2015, the first accessible day that was not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, it was timely filed and the Court has jurisdiction to hear this case.
Eric M. Creizman, for petitioner.*
Michael J. De Matos, for respondent.
LAUBER, Judge: This collection due process (CDP) case is before the Court on a motion by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS or respondent) to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction on the ground that the petition was not filed within the 30-day period prescribed by section 6330(d).1 On May 28, 2015, the motion was assigned for disposition to Special Trial Judge Armen, who recommended that it be denied. On August 24, 2015, his Recommended Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law were served on the parties pursuant to Rules 182(e) and 183(b).
On October 7, 2015, respondent filed a response that concurred with Judge Armen's findings of fact but objected to his conclusions of law. On November 6, 2015, petitioner filed a response that agreed with Judge Armen's recommendation and advanced additional legal theories to support it. On November 19, 2015, we granted a motion by the Harvard Federal Tax Clinic to file a memorandum amicus curiae in support of petitioner, to which both parties have responded.
Petitioner and amicus curiae have advanced four distinct theories to sustain our jurisdiction in this case. We conclude that at least one of these arguments sup-ports our jurisdiction. That argument is based on rule 6(a)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Civil Rules), captioned "Inaccessibility of the Clerk's Office."
Civil Rule 6(a)(3)(A) provides that, "if the clerk's office is inaccessible * * * on the last day for filing * * * , then the time for filing is extended to the first accessible day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday." Rule 25(a) of our Rules, dealing with computation of time, does not address how time shall be computed when the Clerk's Office is inaccessible. Rule 1(b) of our Rules does, however, provide: "Where in any instance there is no applicable rule of procedure, the Court or the Judge before whom the matter is pending may prescribe the procedure, giving particular weight to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to the extent that they are suitably adaptable to govern the matter at hand."
The last date for filing the petition in this case was February 17, 2015, a day on which all Federal offices in the District of Columbia, including the Tax Court, were officially closed for business because of Winter Storm Octavia. This Court does not maintain an after-hours "drop box" for filing documents. And the petition could not be filed electronically that day because the Court, at the time, did not permit petitions to be filed electronically. The Court's Clerk's Office was thus "inaccessible" for the entire day.
We conclude that Civil Rule 6(a)(3) is "suitably adaptable to govern the matter at hand." Giving particular weight to the analogous Civil Rule, as our Rule 1(b) prescribes, we conclude that the time for filing the petition should be "extended to the first accessible day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday." Our Clerk's Office first became accessible following Winter Storm Octavia on February 18, 2015, when the Court reopened for business. Because the petition was filed on that day, we conclude that it was timely filed. We will accordingly deny respondent's motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.
Background
We adopt findings of fact as recommended by Special Trial Judge Armen in his Recommended Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law. See Rule 183(b), (d). These facts are based on the parties' pleadings, memoranda, and attached exhibits. They are stated solely for the purpose of deciding this motion and not as findings of fact in this case. See Rule 1(b); Fed. R. Civ. P. 52(a); Cook v. Commissioner, 115 T.C. 15, 16 (2000), aff'd, 269 F.3d 854 (7th Cir. 2001).
On January 16, 2015, respondent sent to petitioner, by certified mail to his last known address, a Notice of Determination Concerning Collection Action(s) Under Section 6320 and/or 6330. This notice of determination sustained the filing of a notice of Federal tax lien in respect of petitioner's outstanding Federal income tax liabilities for 2003 and 2005. Petitioner, then a resident of New York, sought to challenge this determination by filing a petition with this Court.
The notice of determination advised petitioner: "If you want to dispute this determination in court, you must file a petition with the United States Tax Court within a 30-day period beginning the day after the date of this letter." See sec. 6330(d)(1). The 30th day "after the date of this letter," which was also the 30th day after the mailing of the notice of determination, was Sunday, February 15, 2015. The following day, Monday, February 16, was Washington's Birthday, a legal holiday in the District of Columbia.
On February 16, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that a "snow emergency" would go into effect in the District of Columbia.2 The Executive Office of the Mayor accordingly issued an announcement declaring that all D.C. Government offices would be closed on Tuesday, February 17.3 All Federal Government offices in Washington, D.C., including the Tax Court, were likewise closed forbusiness on that date because of Winter Storm Octavia.4 The Tax Court reopened for business on Wednesday, February 18.
Petitioner sent his petition to the Court via Federal Express (FedEx) First Overnight service in an envelope showing a "ship date" of February 13, 2015. First Overnight service, which promises delivery first thing the next business-day morning (typically by 8:00 or 8:30 a.m.), is the most expedited and expensive overnight service offered by FedEx. First Overnight service did not exist in 2004 when the IRS published Notice 2004-83, 2004-2 C.B. 1030, designating certain "private delivery services" as meeting the criteria set forth in section 7502(f). Notice 2004-83 designated five FedEx modes of delivery as meeting the section 7502 standards; the most expedited of these was Priority Overnight service, which promised delivery the next business-day morning (typically by 10:30 a.m.). The IRS added FedEx First Overnight service to the list of designated private delivery services effective May 6, 2015, approximately three months after the petition in this case was filed. See Notice 2015-38, 2015-21 I.R.B. 984.
This Court does not maintain an after-hours "drop box" and does not accept papers when the Court is closed. The snow emergency thus prevented the petitionfrom being delivered to the Court on February 17. Because the Tax Court at the relevant time did not permit petitions (unlike other papers) to be filed electronically,5 petitioner could not efile his petition with the Court on February 17. His petition was delivered to the Court on Wednesday, February 18, and was filed by the Court later that day. See Rule 10(d) ().
Discussion
Petitioner and amicus curiae have advanced four lines of argument in opposition to respondent's motion to dismiss this case for lack of jurisdiction. We discuss these arguments in turn.
The Tax Court is a court of limited jurisdiction, and we may exercise our jurisdiction only to the extent authorized by Congress. See sec. 7442; Moosally v. Commissioner, 142 T.C. 183, 195-196 (2014). Section 6330(d)(1) provides that an aggrieved taxpayer in a CDP case "may, within 30 days of a determination under this section, appeal such determination to the Tax Court (and the Tax Court shall have jurisdiction with respect to such matter)." We...
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