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Huckaby v. United States, 804 F.2d at 300, the Court of Appeals
stated as follows:
Huckaby, however, has prevailed on the primary issue:
whether the government was liable for tax return
disclosures that were given without written consent.
Section 7430(c)(2)(A)(ii)(II) is phrased in terms of
issues not claims. We therefore hold that Huckaby has
met the second prong of the “prevailing party”
requirement. [Emphasis in original.]
We have not found, and petitioners have not directed our
attention to, any element in the instant case that plays a role
similar to the significance of the “written consent” issue in
Huckaby.
In Wilkerson v. United States, 67 F.3d 112, 120 (5th Cir.
1995), the Court of Appeals stated as follows:
Wilkerson has prevailed on her claim of wrongful
levy, but failed on all her other claims, including
wrongful disclosure. Although she sought a greater
amount of damages for the disclosures, that fact alone
does not make the disclosure issue most significant.
See Huckaby, 804 F.2d at 299-300 (holding that a party
was a “prevailing party” despite award of only $1,000
out of possible $28,000 in damages). In order to
determine which issue is most significant, we must
determine which issue is primary or most nearly central
to the case. See id. at 300 (holding an issue most
significant because it was “the primary issue”).
Looking at the gravamen of Wilkerson’s complaint, the
primary issue was whether the levies on Wilkerson’s
property were wrongful. The bulk of Wilkerson’s claims
were in some way derived from the wrongfulness of the
levies. For example, Wilkerson’s argues that she is
entitled to recover under the Fifth Amendment because
the levies caused her to lose her business without due
process or just compensation. Likewise, Wilkerson
based her claim of wrongful disclosure on a theory that
the wrongfulness of the levies made the disclosures
wrongful. Although we reject this position,
Wilkerson’s complaint indicates the centrality of the
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