TAXATION-COLLECTION AND ENFORCEMENT-ACTION AGAINST COLLECTOR OF INTERNAL REVENUE NOT THE PROPER METHOD OF REMOVING FEDERAL TAX LIENS

Authors

John Houck S.Ed., University of Michigan Law SchoolFollow

Abstract

Plaintiff's property was under a federal tax lien. He brought suit in the district court against the Collector of Internal Revenue, alleging fraudulent issuance of the lien and seeking removal and damages occasioned by the cloud on his title. The collector moved to dismiss on the grounds that no claim was stated upon which relief could be granted, and further, that the collector was not the proper party defendant, while the United States, which had not been joined, was indispensable to the proceeding. Held, petition dismissed. The court found no indication of fraud, but even assuming fraud to exist, the collector cannot be sued for damages traceable to acts within his authority. Effective administration demands that he be free from apprehension of suits. Moreover, the liens are the property of the government rather than the collector, so the United States must be joined. Sidbury v. Gill, (D.C. N.C. 1952) 102 F. Supp. 483.

Recommended Citation

John Houck S.Ed., TAXATION-COLLECTION AND ENFORCEMENT-ACTION AGAINST COLLECTOR OF INTERNAL REVENUE NOT THE PROPER METHOD OF REMOVING FEDERAL TAX LIENS, 51 Mich. L. Rev. 318 (1952).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol51/iss2/21