John Hom v. United States

FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION MAR 24 2016 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT JOHN C. HOM, No. 13-17195 Plaintiff - Appellant, D.C. No. 3:13-cv-02243-WHA JOHN C. HOM & ASSOCIATES, INC., MEMORANDUM* Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Defendant - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California William Alsup, District Judge, Presiding Submitted March 15, 2016** Before: GOODWIN, LEAVY, and CHRISTEN Circuit Judges. John C. Hom appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment dismissing his 26 U.S.C. § 7431(a)(1) action alleging that the United States improperly * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). disclosed his tax return information in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 6103. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo a dismissal under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Doe v. Abbott Labs., 571 F.3d 930, 933 (9th Cir. 2009). We affirm. The district court properly dismissed Hom’s action because Hom failed to allege facts sufficient to show that the disclosures were not made for purposes of tax administration or based on a good faith interpretation of § 6103. See 26 U.S.C. § 6103(h)(1) (disclosures may be made for purposes of tax administration); id. § 7431(b)(1) (precluding liability where a disclosure resulted from a good faith, but erroneous, interpretation of § 6103). AFFIRMED. 2 13-17195