Tuttle v. Lee

The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Plaintiff’s declaratory judgment action against the Laramie County Clerk asking that a Notice of Federal Tax Lien (NFTL) be declared invalid and the NFTL be removed from Plaintiff’s property record, holding that the complaint failed to state a cognizable claim.In 2007, the IRS filed the NFTL at issue against real property owned by Plaintiff. In 2017, Plaintiff filed this action. The district court dismissed the complaint, determining that it was barred by the applicable statute of limitations and that it failed to state a claim for which relief may be granted under Wyo. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). The Supreme Court affirmed after finding a single issue as dispositive, holding that the district court did not err in dismissing the complaint for failure to state a claim because a county clerk has no authority or discretion to consider the underlying basis for a federal tax lien or notice of lien, or to declare the invalidity of the lien, which is the relief Plaintiff sought. View "Tuttle v. Lee" on Justia Law