United States v. Navarro
United States v. Navarro
Opinion of the Court
SUMMARY ORDER
Defendant Louis Navarro appeals pro se from a June 4, 2007 order of the District Court, granting the government’s petition to enforce an Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) summons. We assume the parties’ familiarity with the factual and procedural history of the case, though we revisit key portions of that history here.
On March 30, 2006, the IRS issued an administrative summons to Navarro and his wife
When reviewing an order enforcing an IRS summons, we review the District Court’s factual findings for clear error and its conclusions of law de novo. See Mollison v. United States, 481 F.3d 119, 122 (2d Cir. 2007) (per curiam).
The IRS has authority to issue summonses to ascertain the liability “of any person for any internal revenue tax” and to “examine any books, papers, records, or other data which may be relevant or material to such inquiry.” 26 U.S.C. § 7602. However, “IRS summonses have no force or effect unless the [IRS] seeks to enforce them through a [26 U.S.C.] § 7604 proceeding.” Schulz v. Internal Revenue Serv., 395 F.3d 463, 464 (2d Cir. 2005) (per curiam).
For a District Court to enforce a summons, the IRS must demonstrate that: (1) the summons was issued for a legitimate purpose; (2) the summoned data may be relevant to that purpose; (3) the information is not already in the IRS’s possession; and (4) the administrative procedures required by the Internal Revenue Code for issuance and service have been followed. See United States v. Powell, 379 U.S. 48, 57-58, 85 S.Ct. 248, 13 L.Ed.2d 112 (1964). It is well established that an affidavit from a government official, attesting that each of the Powell requirements has been met, is sufficient to establish a prima facie case. See, e.g., Mollison, 481 F.3d at 123 (internal citations and quotations omitted). Once the prima facie case is established, “the burden shifts to the taxpayer to disprove one of the four Powell criteria, or to demonstrate that judicial enforcement would be an abuse of the court’s process.” Id. at 122.
In the present case, IRS Revenue Officer Cox’s declaration accompanying the petition established a prima facie case for the issuance of the summons. In response, Navarro has offered no evidence to show that the summons was not issued for a legitimate purpose, or that any of the other Powell factors have not been met, or that enforcing the summons would be an abuse of the District Court’s process. Accordingly, he has failed to meet his burden.
Navarro’s remaining claims are wholly frivolous, and he provides no valid authority for his contentions and has identified no errors of law or clearly erroneous findings of fact.
CONCLUSION
We reject all of defendant’s claims on appeal. Accordingly, the June 4, 2007 fi
. Navarro's wife filed an appeal from the District Court’s order, which she then withdrew. See U.S.C.A. Dkt. Sht. (No. 07-2711-cv) at 9/14/2007 Entry (Order).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- United States v. Louis NAVARRO
- Status
- Published