Goodwin v. Amazon Services, LLC, et al.

Filing 2

SCREENING ORDER Granting Leave to Amend, signed by Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe on 03/7/2018. (30-Day Deadline) (Attachments: # 1 Civil Complaint Form)(Martin-Gill, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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LORAINE GOODWIN,

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Plaintiff,
v.
AMAZON SERVICES, LLC, et al.,

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Defendants.
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1:17-cv-01157-AWI-BAM
SCREENING ORDER GRANTING LEAVE
TO AMEND
THIRTY-DAY DEADLINE

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Plaintiff Loraine Goodwin (“Plaintiff”) proceeds pro se in this civil action. Plaintiff has

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paid the filing fee.

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enrichment and defamation against Amazon Services, LLC, Amazon.com, Inc. and various doe

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defendants related to income reported to the Internal Revenue Service.

In her complaint, Plaintiff asserts claims of negligence, fraud, unjust

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Plaintiff’s Complaint, filed on August 28, 2017, is currently before the Court for

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screening. For the reasons set forth below, the Court grants Plaintiff leave to amend her

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complaint.

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Screening Requirement

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The Court is required to screen complaints brought by persons proceeding in pro per. 28

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U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). Plaintiff’s complaint, or any portion thereof, is subject to dismissal if it is

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frivolous or malicious, if it fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or if it seeks

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monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief.

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1915(e)(2)(B)(ii).

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28 U.S.C. §

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A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the

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pleader is entitled to relief. . . .” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are not

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required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere

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conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937,

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1949 (2009) (citing Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1964-65

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(2007)). While a plaintiff’s allegations are taken as true, courts “are not required to indulge

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unwarranted inferences.” Doe I v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 572 F.3d 677, 681 (9th Cir. 2009)

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(internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

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Pro se litigants are entitled to have their pleadings liberally construed and to have any

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doubt resolved in their favor, Wilhelm v. Rotman, 680 F.3d 1113, 1121-1123 (9th Cir. 2012),

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Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th Cir. 2010), but to survive screening, Plaintiff’s claims

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must be facially plausible, which requires sufficient factual detail to allow the Court to

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reasonably infer that each named defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged, Iqbal, 556 U.S.

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at 678, 129 S.Ct. at 1949 (quotation marks omitted); Moss v. United States Secret Service, 572

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F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). The sheer possibility that a defendant acted unlawfully is not

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sufficient, and mere consistency with liability falls short of satisfying the plausibility standard.

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Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. at 1949; Moss, 572 F.3d at 969.

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I.

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Plaintiff alleges that she previously sold goods on Amazon.com in 2012 under the

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pseudonym “santafairy,” but the account was closed in 2012. On or around February 15, 2015,

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Plaintiff was informed by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) that she owed over $24,000 in

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past taxes and fees/fines for unreported income in 2013. Plaintiff learned that the income was

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reported to the IRS by Amazon Services, LLC, in the amount of $82,570.

Allegations in Complaint

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A United States Attorney later sent Plaintiff a list of transactions between Amazon and an

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unknown person using Plaintiff’s name and social security number, but an unknown address in

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another state. Plaintiff reportedly wrote to the attorney for Amazon Services, LLC, but was told

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that “they would not do anything to help Plaintiff investigate the matter since they were not

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involved as a party in the Tax Court lawsuit.” Complaint, Doc. 1 at p. 4. Plaintiff contends that

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based on Amazon’s 1099, the IRS demands money. Around March 2016, Plaintiff also was

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informed by the IRS that a 2015 1099 was filed using Plaintiff’s ID for unreported income in

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2015.

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As relief, Plaintiff seeks rescission of all 1099s, 20 years of anti-fraud services, punitive
damages, and settlement/closure of the related IRS case.

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II.

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Based on the allegations in the complaint, it appears that Plaintiff currently has an action

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pending regarding her federal income tax liability in the United States Tax Court. Insofar as the

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present action implicates her federal income tax liability, this court lacks jurisdiction over her

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claims. Federal income tax liability falls exclusively within the jurisdiction of the United States

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Tax Court. See 26 U.S.C. § 7442; see also Guthrie v. Everson, No. 2:08-cv-1972 LKK JFM PS,

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2008 WL 5323030, at *2 (E.D. Cal. Nov. 20, 2008), report and recommendation adopted, No.

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2:08-cv-1972 LKK JFM PS, 2009 WL 667202 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 13, 2009).

Discussion

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Insofar as Plaintiff is seeking to have the 1099s issued by defendants voided, this court

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also lacks jurisdiction. The Declaratory Judgment Act allows courts to “declare the rights and

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other legal relations” of parties within its jurisdiction, but not “with respect to [f]ederal taxes.”

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28 U.S.C. § 2201(a). Further, any determination by the court that Plaintiff did not receive any

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income from the sale of goods on amazon.com in 2013 and 2015 would be a determination of

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Plaintiff’s underlying tax liability. As stated, however, the court lacks authority to determine a

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party’s tax liability. See Sterling Consulting Corp. v. United States, 245 F.3d 1161, 1166 (10th

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Cir. 2001) (“[T]here are no relevant exceptions under the Declaratory Judgment Act that permit

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the district court to determine [a party’s] tax liabilities.”).

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To the extent that Plaintiff is attempting to assert a claim against defendants for a

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fraudulent information return, Plaintiff has not stated a cognizable claim. Under 26 U.S.C. §

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7434(a), a person may not “willfully file[ ]” with the IRS “a fraudulent information return with

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respect to payments purported to be made to any other person[.]” For the purposes of § 7434(a),

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an “information return” refers to an enumerated list of statements filed with the IRS pursuant to

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the United States Tax Code. Id. § 7434(f). The statute authorizes the person on whose behalf the

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fraudulent information return was filed to bring a civil action for damages against the person

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filing the return. Id. § 7434(a); Katzman v. Essex Waterfront Owners LLC, 660 F.3d 565, 569 (2d

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Cir. 2011) (discussing legislative intent of § 7434 to address the fact that some taxpayers may

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suffer significant personal loss and inconvenience as the result of the IRS receiving fraudulent

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information returns, “which have been filed by persons intent on either defrauding the IRS or

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harassing taxpayers”). As a claim pursuant to § 7434 alleges fraud by definition, Federal Rule of

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Civil Procedure 9(b)’s heightened pleading standard applies. See Kearns v. Ford Motor

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Company, 567 F.3d 1120, 1125 (9th Cir. 2009). Rule 9 requires that a party alleging fraud or

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mistake must state with particularity the circumstances constituting fraud or mistake. Fed. R.

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Civ. P. 9(b).

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Assuming, without deciding, that the form referenced by Plaintiff is an information return

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subject to § 7434, Plaintiff has not pled sufficient facts to demonstrate that any of the defendants

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willfully filed the allegedly false information returns. “Willfuness in the context of § 7434

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means “intentional wrongdoing.” See Gidding v. Zurich Am. Ins. Co., No. 15-cv-01176-HSG,

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2016 WL 4088865, at *6 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 2, 2016). “[A]lthough Rule 9(b) permits knowledge

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and intent to be pled in general terms, a plaintiff still must allege sufficient underlying facts from

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which a court may reasonably infer that a party acted with the requisite state of mind.” San

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Francisco Tech., Inc. v. GlaxoSmithKline LLC, No. 5:10-cv-03248-JF/NJV, 2011 WL 941096, at

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*3 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 16, 2011) (internal quotation and citation omitted). There is nothing in

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Plaintiff’s allegations from which the court may reasonably infer that defendants acted with the

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requisite state of mind, i.e., that defendants willfully filed false returns or that they intended to

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either defraud the IRS or otherwise harass Plaintiff. Plaintiff will be given leave to cure this

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deficiency if she can do so in good faith.

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CONCLUSION AND ORDER

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For the reasons stated, Plaintiff has failed to state a cognizable claim for relief. The

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Court will grant Plaintiff an opportunity to cure the identified deficiencies to the extent she is

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able to do so in good faith. Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1130 (9th Cir. 2000).

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Plaintiff’s amended complaint should be brief, Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a), but it must state what

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each named defendant did that led to the deprivation of Plaintiff’s constitutional rights, Iqbal,

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556 U.S. at 678-79, 129 S.Ct. at 1948-49. Although accepted as true, the “[f]actual allegations

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must be [sufficient] to raise a right to relief above the speculative level . . . .” Twombly, 550 U.S.

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at 555 (citations omitted).

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Additionally, Plaintiff may not change the nature of this suit by adding new, unrelated
claims in her first amended complaint. George v. Smith, 507 F.3d 605, 607 (7th Cir. 2007).

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Finally, Plaintiff is reminded that an amended complaint supersedes the original

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complaint. Lacey v. Maricopa Cty., 693 F.3d 896, 927 (9th Cir. 2012). Therefore, Plaintiff’s

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amended complaint must be “complete in itself without reference to the prior or superseded

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pleading.” Local Rule 220.

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Based on the foregoing, it is HEREBY ORDERED that:

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The Clerk’s Office shall send Plaintiff a complaint form;

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Within thirty (30) days from the date of service of this order, Plaintiff shall file a

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first amended complaint curing the deficiencies identified by the Court in this order; and
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If Plaintiff fails to file an amended complaint in compliance with this order, the

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Court will recommend dismissal of this action, with prejudice, for failure to obey a court order

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and for failure to state a claim.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

/s/ Barbara

March 7, 2018

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A. McAuliffe

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UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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