Shotgun Delivery, Inc. v. United States

ORDER RE UNITED STATES’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

I. INTRODUCTION

In the above-captioned case, Plaintiff Shotgun Delivery, Inc., (“Shotgun”) brings an action against Defendant United States of America (“United States”), for the recovery of internal revenue taxes which it claims have been wrongfully assessed and collected. The United States has filed a counterclaim against Shotgun to reduce this matter to judgment and collect the assessed but as yet unpaid internal reve nue taxes, penalties and interest for which Shotgun is hable under Section 3121(a) of the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”).

II. BACKGROUND

Shotgun is a California corporation, engaged in the business of providing courier services for point-to-point deliveries. Drivers employed by Shotgun generally use their own vehicles to make pick-ups and deliveries. These drivers would notify Shotgun of when they were available to work and would then be radio dispatched on an as needed basis.

Shotgun charged its customers based on distance, time required for delivery, waiting time and weight. The total amount a customer was charged for any one job was called a “tag rate.” Usually, Shotgun would charge a customer a fixed…