William Vaughn v. Internal Revenue Service
Filing
PER CURIAM OPINION FILED - THE COURT: Duane Benton, Pasco M. Bowman and Bobby E. Shepherd (UNPUBLISHED); Granting [4117693-2] motion for sanctions filed by Mr. Kenneth W. Rosenberg. Sanctions are assessed in the amount of $2,000. [4130287] [13-3451]
United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
___________________________
No. 13-3451
___________________________
William Vaughn
lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellant
v.
Internal Revenue Service of the United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant - Appellee
____________
Appeal from United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis
____________
Submitted: March 3, 2014
Filed: March 6, 2014
[Unpublished]
____________
Before BENTON, BOWMAN, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.
____________
PER CURIAM.
William Vaughn brought this action in the district court,1 asserting, inter alia,
that the Internal Revenue Service had illegally collected taxes on wages he had
1
The Honorable E. Richard Webber, United States District Judge for the
Eastern District of Missouri.
Appellate Case: 13-3451
Page: 1
Date Filed: 03/06/2014 Entry ID: 4130287
earned. He now appeals an adverse post-judgment order. Upon careful review, we
conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying his motion to
amend the judgment, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e). See United
States v. Metro. St. Louis Sewer Dist., 440 F.3d 930, 933 (8th Cir. 2006) (Rule 59(e)
motions serve limited function of correcting manifest errors of law or fact or to
present newly discovered evidence; denial of Rule 59(e) motion reviewed for abuse
of discretion); see also United States v. Gerads, 999 F.2d 1255, 1256 (8th Cir. 1993)
(per curiam) (wages are within definition of income under Internal Revenue Code and
Sixteenth Amendment, and are subject to taxation). We further conclude that the
district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Vaughn’s post-judgment request
for leave to file an amended complaint. See Horras v. Am. Capital Strategies, 729
F.3d 798, 804 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, No. 13-843, 2014 WL 177056, at *1 (U.S. Feb.
24, 2014) (denial of post-judgment request for leave to amend complaint reviewed for
abuse of discretion; district court may appropriately deny leave to amend where, for
example, amendment would be futile).
Accordingly, we affirm. See 8th Cir. R. 47B. We also grant the government’s
motion for sanctions,2 and we assess sanctions in the amount of $2,000. See 28
U.S.C. § 1912; Fed. R. App. P. 38; Gerads, 999 F.2d at 1256-57 (granting
government’s motion for $1,500 in sanctions where appellants had advanced on
appeal frivolous “tax-protestor” arguments that had been repeatedly rejected).
______________________________
2
We overrule Vaughn’s apparent objection to the clerk’s order that the
sanctions motion be taken with the case.
-2-
Appellate Case: 13-3451
Page: 2
Date Filed: 03/06/2014 Entry ID: 4130287
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?