Court Opinion

ID: 9461561
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 22:17:31.93809+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:37:07.784917
License: Public Domain

MANSFIELD, Circuit Judge
(concurring):
I concur in the holding that summary judgment was improperly granted by the District court because of the existence of a question of material fact; that is, the location, if any, of the taxpayer’s residence on October 3, 1972. However, I disagree with the majority’s construction of 26 U.S.C. § 6323(f)(2)(B) and with the burden of proof that it would place upon the government upon remand.
In my view Congress did not intend the term “residence” in § 6323(f)(2)(B) to be given a strict or literal meaning that would prevent the government from filing a lien to establish its priority to collect a lawfully-due tax in the case where a taxpayer has discontinued his residence and hopped around the country. Cf. United States v. Ball, 326 F.2d 898, 900 (4th Cir. 1964). As Judge Learned Hand said in Guiseppi v. Walling, 144 F.2d 608, 624 (2d Cir. 1944) (concurring opinion) “[t]here is no surer way to misread any document than to read it literally.” See also Federal Deposit Ins. Corp. v. Tremaine, 133 F.2d 827, 830 (2d Cir. 1943) (L. Hand, C. J.) (“There is no surer guide in the interpretation of a statute than its purpose when that is sufficiently disclosed; nor any surer mark of over solicitude for the letter than to wince at carrying out that purpose because the words used do not formally quite match with it.”)
I believe that § 6323(f)(2)(B) should be construed to mean that, where the government cannot through reasonable inquiry ascertain a taxpayer’s actual residence, it may satisfy the statute’s requirement by filing notice of its judgment lien with the state-designated office within the jurisdiction of the taxpayer’s last known or verifiable abode. This practical construction seems to me to be in accord with the purpose of the statute, which is to put other creditors on notice, since they too would be most likely to inquire about liens in the county of the last residence of the taxpayer that could be ascertained by reasonable effort. Furthermore, the interpretation of “residence” as meaning “last known residence” is in accord with other provisions of the Code, see, e. g., 26 U.S.C. §§ 6212 & 6303.
Under this construction of the statute there need be no fear that the government might be able to satisfy the statute’s requirements merely by locating the taxpayer’s last address shown on IRS tax records, since this would not necessarily be ascertainable by reasonable effort on the part of creditors. Nor is there any reason for adopting such an interpretation merely because it has been adopted by one court in construing a different statute. See Luhring v. Glotzback, 304 F.2d 556, 559 (4th Cir. 1962). The last publicly known address of a taxpayer, on the other hand, is ascertainable by creditors.
*612The government should not be obligated under § 6323(f)(2)(B) to ferret out the secret hideout of such a taxpayer, whether it be in Switzerland or elsewhere. While a clarifying amendment of the statute would be helpful I do not think it is essential. Congress’ purpose can be implemented by a practical construction of the term “residence” as used in the existing law.