Barcelos

MEMORANDUM

In this § 3621k) 1 action, the government’s return of tax refunds to the debtor has narrowed the debtor's damages claim to the debtor’s attorney’s fees and costs of litigation and accountant’s fees. Barcelos’s failure to exhaust administrative remedies means that sovereign immunity is not waived for this action, and this deprives the court of jurisdiction.

FACTS

Manuel F. Barcelos (“Barcelos”) filed an adversary complaint under 11 U.S.C. § 362 (k) against the United States of America (“United States”). Barcelos asserts that the United States, acting through the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), violated the automatic stay of § 362(a) during his Chapter 12 bankruptcy by seizing his 2013 income tax refund in the amount of $11,9.17 and 2014 income tax refund in the amount of $9,262. His action pursues recovery of actual damages as well as attorney’s fees and costs.

The parties agree that, after commencing this adversary proceeding, Barcelos attempted to exhaust his administrative remedies informally. He sent his administrative claim for attorney’s fees of $8,399.25 and accounting fees of $738.00 to two different IRS employees and an attorney at the U.S. Department of…