Operating Engineers v. United States

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 5 OPERATING ENGINEERS LOCAL Case No. 21-cv-02724-AGT

UNION NO. 3,

7 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING GOVERNMENT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY v. JUDGMENT 9 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Re: Dkt. No. 23 10 Defendant.

11 During the last two quarters of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019, Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3 (“OE3”) failed to fulfill its federal tax obligations with respect to the funds it withheld from its employees’ wages. By statute, these failures triggered the assessment of substantial penalties by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), which OE3 paid in full. After unsuccessfully seeking reimbursement from the IRS, OE3 filed this suit seeking a refund of the penalties paid, plus interest, on the grounds that its failure to timely file, pay, and deposit payroll taxes during the periods at issue was “due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect.” 26 U.S.C. §§ 6651(a), 6656(a). The Government now moves for summary judgment,…