Case Summaries

Tax Law

[06/13] Fourth Investment LP v. US
The district court's decision denying plaintiffs' quiet title claims to remove federal tax liens encumbering their real properties and upholding the validity of tax liens filed by the Internal Revenue Service is affirmed, where: 1) California law unambiguously recognizes the existence of nominee ownership; and 2) applying criteria set forth in relevant federal cases, the district court properly concluded that plaintiffs held legal title to the San Diego properties as nominees of the taxpayers.

[06/11] In the Matter of Norman E. Roth v. City of Syracuse
In a Real Property Tax Law article 7 proceeding challenging the tax assessments of certain residential properties: 1) petitioner failed to rebut the presumption of validity that attaches to the tax assessments of the properties by the City of Syracuse; and 2) petitioner failed to proffer substantial evidence demonstrating a diminution in market value to his properties caused by the mere presence of lead paint.

[06/06] US v. Hasan
Defendant's convictions of various offenses related to the trafficking of contraband cigarettes are affirmed, where: 1) the actions undertaken by the ATF in this case were not unlawful; 2) there is no merit to defendant' claim that ATF agents in this case otherwise engaged in behavior that is "offensive to traditional notions of fundamental fairness;" and 3) the district court did not err in calculating the forfeiture amount by calculating the sum based on the gross proceeds, rather than profits, realized by the contraband cigarette distribution scheme.

[05/30] Bush v. US
Dismissal of plaintiff-taxpayers' refund suit by the Court of Federal Claim is affirmed, where: 1) under the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility individual partners may not bring tax challenges relating to subject matter attributable to a partnership item, rather, such claims must be brought in a partnership-level suit by the partnership representative or Tax Matters Partner; and 2) plaintiffs' claim for a refund of taxes and penalties assessed for substantial underpayments of tax attributable to tax motivated transactions of their oil and gas partnership, is an impermissible collateral attack.

[05/23] US v. Shellef
Second judgment of conviction for conspiracy to commit tax fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering is affirmed, where: 1) the findings necessary to extend the prescribed period for retrial from 70 to 180 days under 18 U.S.C. section 3161(e), the Speedy Trial Act, can be made after the initial 70-day period for retrial has passed; 2) the factors relied on by the district judge in granting an extension to 180 days resulted from passage of time, insofar as they reflected changed circumstances between the close of the original trial and the grant of the extension affecting retrial; and 3) the district judge correctly identified sufficient excludable delay to support the conclusion that defendant was retried within 180 days of this court's mandate.

[05/21] Williams v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
Summary judgment granted by the U.S. Tax Court in favor of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue sustaining a proposed levy to recover outstanding income tax liabilities for the 2000, 2001, and 2002 taxable years is affirmed, where: 1) the IRS was justified in denying a face-to-face hearing here and sustaining the proposed levy; and 2) therefore, the Tax Court did not err by so concluding.

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Corporation & Enterprise Law

[06/18] Castillo Grand, LLC v. Sheraton Operating Corporation
The district court's order awarding defendant $200,000 in attorney's fees and $30,000 in costs, is vacated and remanded with directions to delete the award of attorney's fees, where: 1) 28 U.S.C. section 1919 does not authorize an award of attorney's fees; and 2) although such fees may be awarded on a non-statutory basis for bad faith in the conduct of litigation, fees were not warranted under the circumstances of this case, where plaintiff re-filed a lawsuit after non-diverse members of a limited liability corporation were dropped in an attempt to invoke diversity of citizenship jurisdiction.

[06/18] SB Liberty, LLC v. Isla Verde Association, Inc.
The trial court's denial of plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to enjoin defendant-homeowners association and its Board from taking any action to prevent or interfere with plaintiff's representatives, including its attorney, attending and participating in the Board's meetings, is affirmed, where the trial did not err in concluding that: 1) the Board may exclude from the open sessions of its meetings a person like plaintiff's attorney who is not a member of the defendant-association; and 2) plaintiff failed to meet its burden of showing a reasonable probability of prevailing on the merits at trial.

[05/30] Bush v. US
Dismissal of plaintiff-taxpayers' refund suit by the Court of Federal Claim is affirmed, where: 1) under the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility individual partners may not bring tax challenges relating to subject matter attributable to a partnership item, rather, such claims must be brought in a partnership-level suit by the partnership representative or Tax Matters Partner; and 2) plaintiffs' claim for a refund of taxes and penalties assessed for substantial underpayments of tax attributable to tax motivated transactions of their oil and gas partnership, is an impermissible collateral attack.

[05/30] Schlessinger v. Valspar Corporation
In response to the certified questions: 1) General Business Law section 395-a, which (with certain exceptions) forbids the termination before expiration of any "maintenance agreement covering parts and/or service," does not make contract clauses that contradict its terms null and void; and 2) violation of section 395-a alone does not give rise to a cause of action under General Business Law section 349.

[05/29] AREI II Cases
Judgment dismissing causes of action against defendant investment bankers for their role in structuring a real estate transaction in which the seller failed to disclose that its sole owner was a convicted felon and concealed the existence of a second loan that grossly overleveraged the property is reversed, where: 1) the operative second amended complaint does not state a cause of action against the defendant investment bankers for materially assisting in a securities law violation under Corporations Code section 25504.1; but 2) the facts as pleaded are minimally sufficient to state a cause of action against the defendant investment bankers for common law fraud based upon a conspiracy to defraud the investors.

[05/24] Massachusetts Retirement Systems v. CVS Caremark Corporation
Dismissal of a putative class action for securities fraud against defendant and certain of its current and former employees, is vacated and remanded, where: 1) plaintiffs' allegations indicate that the drop in defendant's share price was causally related to its misstatements regarding the integration of CVS and Caremark, and these allegations are sufficiently plausible to foreclose dismissal; 2) the new information revealed in the subject earnings call regarding the reason for the contract losses could plausibly have caused the plaintiffs' losses; and 3) the analyst reports should have been considered in deciding the motion to dismiss.

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Sentencing

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