United States of America et al v. Whitman

Filing 14

ORDER signed by Judge Morrison C. England, Jr. on 7/14/2010 ADOPTING 10 Findings and Recommendations in full. The I.R.S. summonses issued to Resp, Roger P. Whitman, are ENFORCED. Resp, Roger P. Whitman, is ORDERED to provide copies of the books, checks, records, papers and other data demanded by the summonses. Resp is ORDERED to appear at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina. (Zignago, K.)

United States of America et al v. Whitman

Doc. 14

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B E N J A M IN B. WAGNER U n ite d States Attorney Y O S H IN O R I H. T. HIMEL #66194 A s s is ta n t United States Attorney E a ste rn District of California 5 0 1 I Street, Suite 10-100 S a c ra m e n to , California 95814-2322 T e le p h o n e : [phone]

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE E A S T E R N DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

U N IT E D STATES OF AMERICA, D A V ID PALMER, Revenue Officer a n d CHUNG NGO, Revenue Agent, In te rn a l Revenue Service, P e titio n e r s, v. R O G E R P. WHITMAN, R e sp o n d e n t.

C a s e No.: 2:10-mc-00035-MCE-KJM

O R D E R ADOPTING MAGISTRATE J U D G E 'S FINDINGS AND R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S RE: I.R.S. S U M M O N S ENFORCEMENT T a x p a ye r: ROGER P. WHITMAN

T h e United States, Revenue Officer David Palmer and Revenue Agent Chung N g o , here petition for enforcement of two I.R.S. summonses. The matter was placed b e f o re United States Magistrate Judge Kimberly J. Mueller under 28 U.S.C. § 636 et seq. a n d Local Rule 73-302. On April 2, 2010, Judge Mueller issued an Order to Show Cause, o rd e rin g the respondent, Roger P. Whitman, to show cause why the I.R.S. summonses is s u e d to him on October 5, 2009, and October 12, 2009, should not be enforced. The P e titio n , Points and Authorities, and Order to Show Cause were personally served upon th e respondent. Respondent did not file an opposition to enforcement under paragraph on p a g e 3 of the Order to Show Cause, but sent an untimely response, via the Government, re q u e s tin g that the hearing be moved to North Carolina where he is currently staying. Page 1
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T h e Magistrate Judge did not address this request because the document was not filed w ith the Court and is consequently not a part of the court's record. Ju d g e Mueller presided at the show-cause hearing on June 9, 2010. Petitioners a p p e are d ; respondent failed to appear. On June 18, 2010, Judge Mueller filed Findings a n d Recommendations, finding that the requirements for summons enforcement had been sa tisf ied and recommending that the summonses be enforced. Respondent again failed to f ile objections with the Court, but did mail his objections to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The government filed a reply to the objections and attached the objections for this Court's use. T h e thrust of respondent's objections to the Magistrate Judge's Findings and R e c o m m e n d a tio n s is for the I.R.S. to be reasonable when setting the place of the meeting f o r compliance with the summons and with this order under 26 U.S.C. § 7605. Petitioners' reply states that they are willing to conduct the meeting via videoconference b etw ee n the U.S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento, California and the U.S. Attorney's O f f ice in Asheville, North Carolina, which is only 34 miles from Brevard, North C a ro lin a , where respondent is staying. Petitioners make their willingness conditional u p o n respondent's providing copies of the summoned documents to the I.R.S. before the v id e o c o n fe re n c e as specified in an appointment letter. I find that the plan as stated by p e titio n e rs is reasonable. I have reviewed the entire record de novo under 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C) and L o c a l Rule 72-304. I am satisfied that the Magistrate Judge's findings and re c o m m e n d a tio n s are supported by the record and by proper analysis, and that the re q u e ste d summons enforcement should be granted. Accordingly, it is hereby O R D E R E D as follows: 1 . The Magistrate Judge's Findings and Recommendations Re: I.R.S. Summons E n f o rc e m e n t, filed June 18, 2010, are ADOPTED IN FULL. 2 . The I.R.S. summonses issued to respondent, ROGER P. WHITMAN, are EN FO RC ED . Page 2

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3 . Respondent, ROGER P. WHITMAN, is ORDERED to provide copies of the b o o k s , checks, records, papers and other data demanded by the summonses, to Revenue O f f ice r David Palmer and Revenue Agent Chung Ngo at their offices in California, to a rriv e one week before the day set for the videoconference, and to bring a copy with him to the videoconference in Asheville, North Carolina. The street addresses are: R e v e n u e Officer David Palmer In te rn a l Revenue Service 1 3 0 1 Clay Street S u ite 1040 South O a k la n d , CA 94612 R e v e n u e Agent Chung Ngo In te rn a l Revenue Service 7 7 7 Sonoma Avenue Room 112 S a n ta Rosa, CA 95404 4 . Respondent, ROGER P. WHITMAN, is ORDERED to appear at the U.S. A tto rn e y's Office for the Western District of North Carolina, located in Room 233, U.S. C o u rth o u se , 100 Otis Street, Asheville, North Caroline, 28801, to appear via v id e o c o n fe re n c e before Revenue Officer David Palmer and Revenue Agent Chung Ngo, o r their designated representatives, 21 days after of the issuance of this order, or at an a lte rn a te time and date to be set by Revenue Officer Palmer and Revenue Agent Ngo, th e n and there to be sworn and to give testimony, the examination to continue from day to d a y until completed. It is SO ORDERED. D a te d : July 14, 2010 ________________________________ M O R R IS O N C. ENGLAND, JR. U N IT E D STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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