Ninth Circuit Affirms Judgment for Taxes, Lien Foreclosure

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
C. LYNN MOSES,
Defendant-Appellant,
and
RANDY A. BURNSIDE,
Defendant.

NOT FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALSFOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

D.C. No. 4:19-cv-00108-DCN

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Idaho
David C. Nye, Chief District Judge, Presiding

Submitted September 14, 2022^**

MEMORANDUM^*

Before: O'SCANNLAIN, RAWLINSON, and OWENS, Circuit Judges.

C. Lynn Moses appeals pro se from the district court's summary judgment in favor of the United States in its action seeking to reduce federal tax assessments to judgment and foreclose on tax liens. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo. Hughes v. United States, 953 F.2d 531, 541 (9th Cir. 1992). We affirm.

The district court properly granted summary judgment for the United States regarding Moses's assessed tax liabilities for the 1999 through 2002 tax years because the government introduced evidence of its deficiency determinations, and Moses failed to raise a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether the determinations were invalid. See Palmer v. IRS, 116 F.3d 1309, 1312 (9th Cir. 1997) (explaining that the IRS's deficiency determinations are entitled to the presumption of correctness unless the taxpayer submits competent evidence that the assessments were “arbitrary, excessive, or without foundation”).

The district court properly granted summary judgment for the United States regarding the attachment of tax liens to the property because Moses failed to raise a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether the liens against the property were invalid. See 26 U.S.C. § 7403(c) (authorizing the district court to decree a sale of property subject to a federal tax lien).

AFFIRMED.