Smola v. Manuel Camara, Jr. Insurance Agency, Inc.
Smola v. Manuel Camara, Jr. Insurance Agency, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
On March 28, 1974, a judgment creditor of Coastal Plumbing & Heating, Inc. (Coastal), had been unable to obtain satisfaction by execution and brought a complaint in a Probate Court for the appointment of a
That ruling was erroneous. Although under 26 U.S.C. § 6323(a) (1976) a Federal tax lien is not “valid as against any . . . judgment lien creditor until notice thereof which meets the requirements of subsection (f) has been filed,” Camara was not a “judgment lien creditor” within the meaning of § 6323(a) until it recovered its judgment in 1974. See 26 C.F.R. § 301.6323-1 (a) (2) (i) (b) (1974) (“The term ‘judgment creditor’ means a person who has obtained a valid judgment ... for the recovery of specifically designated property or for a certain sum of money . . .”); United States v. Security Trust & Sav. Bank, 340 U.S. 47, 49-50 (1950); United States v. Acri, 348 U.S. 211, 214 (1955); Gaston Elec. Co. v. American Constr. Co., 336 Mass. 454, 457-458 (1957). Notices of the tax liens were properly filed in the Federal District Court under 26 U.S.C. § 6323(f)(1)(B) (1976), because the law of the Commonwealth (G. L. c. 255, § 39B[1][c], together with G. L. c. 106, § 9-401 [l][c]) did not designate one office for the filing of the notices as required by § 6323(f) (1) (A) (ii) but rather two.
Camara correctly acknowledges that the statute of limitations has not run against the enforcement of the liens if the receivership was within the jurisdiction of the Probate Court. Although such jurisdiction may not have been conferred on the Probate Court by G. L. c. 156B, § 105 (compare Foster v. Evans, 384 Mass. 687, 689-690 [1981]), jurisdiction to appoint a receiver lay within the general equity power conferred on the Probate Court by G. L. c. 215, § 6. New England Theatres, Inc. v. Olympia Theatres, Inc., 287 Mass. 485, 491-493 (1934). Thus the Probate Court had jurisdiction, and no argument is made that the criteria for the appointment of a receiver under general equity jurisdiction, as contrasted with the criteria under § 105, were not met.
The judgment is reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
So ordered.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.