Irwin Koff Darline Ruth Koff v. United States

978 F.2d 715 NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. Irwin KOFF; Darline Ruth Koff, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant-Appellee. No. 91-16839. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Submitted Oct. 8, 1992. * Decided Oct. 23, 1992. Before FERGUSON, O'SCANNLAIN and RYMER, Circuit Judges. 1 MEMORANDUM ** 2 Irwin and Darline Koff ("the Koffs"), acting pro se, brought suit pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2410 (a) to quiet title to certain of their property on which the IRS had placed federal tax liens. The Koffs alleged that the liens were procedurally defective, hence invalid, because the IRS had failed to make an appropriate assessment under section 6203 of the Internal Revenue Code. The district court, citing this court's decision in Elias v. Connett, 908 F.2d 521 (9th Cir.1990), concluded that such a challenge amounted to a collateral attack on the merits of the assessment, and as such could not be maintained under the guise of an…