Opinion ID: 656593
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The 1980-82 Refund Claims

Text: 13 We review de novo a district court's decision to grant summary judgment, viewing the evidence and all reasonable inferences drawn from it in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Talbot v. Robert Matthers Distrib. Co., 961 F.2d 654, 663 (7th Cir.1992).
14 Summary judgment is appropriate if the court is satisfied that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The moving party bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion.... Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2553, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986), and must demonstrate that no genuine issue of material fact exists for trial. Id., at 322, 106 S.Ct. at 2552. However, the moving party is not required to negate those portions of the nonmoving party's claim on which the nonmoving party bears the burden of proof. Id., at 323, 106 S.Ct. at 2553. 15 Once the moving party demonstrates that there is no genuine issue of material fact, the nonmoving party must designate specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Id., at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 2553. In doing so, the nonmoving party must make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. Id., at 322, 106 S.Ct. at 2552.
16 Internal Revenue Code section 6512(a) provides that if the IRS has timely mailed a notice of deficiency to a taxpayer, and the taxpayer has timely filed a petition with the Tax Court, no suit for the recovery of any part of the tax to which the petition relates shall be brought by the taxpayer in any court. The exceptions to this rule are as follows: (1) overpayments determined by the Tax Court; (2) amounts collected in excess of amounts decided by the Tax Court; (3) amounts collected after the period of limitations upon the making of levy or after the time for beginning a proceeding in court for collection has expired; or (4) overpayments attributable to certain partnership items. I.R.C. § 6512(a). 17 The Heftis do not attempt to argue that any of the exceptions to section 6512(a) apply to the payments they made for 1980 through 1982. Nor do they dispute that their 1980 through 1982 tax years were the subject of Tax Court litigation in which they exercised all rights of review available to them. Instead, the Heftis argue that section 6512(a) is not applicable to them because the IRS never made lawful assessments for those years. They repeatedly stress that this is not the typical case alleging overpayment and seeking refund; rather, they assert that this case involves a demand for a return of deposits based on the failure of the government to properly assess their tax liabilities. 18 The Heftis first challenge the validity of the assessments on the ground that they were not timely made. Under Internal Revenue Code section 6501(a), the IRS must assess the tax within three years after the return is filed. If the taxpayer files a petition in Tax Court, this limitations period is suspended until 60 days after the decision of the Tax Court becomes final. I.R.C. § 6503(a)(1). If, as in this case, an appeal is filed, the Tax Court's decision is affirmed, and the Supreme Court denies certiorari, the Tax Court decision becomes final when the time to file a motion for rehearing of the denial of certiorari expires. I.R.C. § 7481(a)(2)(B). In this case, the Supreme Court denied the Heftis' petition for certiorari on May 14, 1990, which would have given the IRS until at least July 13, 1990 to issue the assessments. Thus, the December 5, 1988, assessments for the 1980-82 tax years were issued well before the assessment period expired. 19 The Heftis also claim that the Certificates of Assessments and Payments are not sufficient to establish that they were properly assessed. An assessment is made by recording the liability of the taxpayer in the office of the Secretary in accordance with rules or regulations prescribed by the Secretary. I.R.C. § 6203. The IRS satisfies its obligations under this statute when an assessment officer signs a summary record of assessment, describing (1) the taxpayer's name and address; (2) the character of the assessed liability; (3) the taxable period (if any); and (4) the amount of the assessment. Treas.Reg. § 301.6203-1. Contrary to the Heftis' assertion, the Certificates of Assessments and Payments offered by the government in support of its motion for summary judgment meet the requirements of Treas.Reg. § 301.6203-1, as they contain all of the necessary information. In addition, Certificates of Assessments and Payments establish the fact of assessment and carry with them a presumption of validity and that the assessments they reflect were properly made. United States v. Chila, 871 F.2d 1015, 1018 (11th Cir.1989), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 975, 110 S.Ct. 498, 107 L.Ed.2d 501 (1989); United States v. Strebler, 313 F.2d 402, 403-404 (8th Cir.1963); United States v. Dixon, 672 F.Supp. 503, 506 (M.D.Ala.1987), aff'd without published opinion, 849 F.2d 1478 (11th Cir.1988). Each of the Certificates of Assessments and Payments at issue here was accompanied by a Certificate of Official Record, signed under seal by an IRS official. As such, the district court properly relied on them in ruling on the government's motion for summary judgment. Hughes v. United States, 953 F.2d 531, 540 (9th Cir.1992). 20 In response to the government's motion for summary judgment, the Heftis introduced certain tax transcripts and social security records in an attempt to establish that the assessments were never properly made. The Heftis also introduced their own affidavit and the affidavit of an expert, Wayne Bentson, to explain the significance of these documents. 21 None of this evidence is sufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact to defeat summary judgment. Social Security Administration records are not relevant to whether the IRS, a separate agency, lawfully made assessments. Furthermore, nothing in the tax transcripts refutes the information reflected in the Certificates of Assessments and Payments. Finally, a review of the Bentson affidavit reveals that he never denies that the assessments listed on the Certificates of Assessments and Payments were actually made. Because of these deficiencies, the Heftis have not satisfied their burden under Celotex. 22 Therefore, the district court properly granted the government's motion for summary judgment.