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whether the United States’ tax lien had priority over other
claims to funds held in the name of a third party. The United
States claimed the third party was the alter ego of the
taxpayer/debtor, and that its tax lien therefore attached to the
funds. The court agreed with the United States.
Petitioner apparently relies on the following footnote in
the Diversified Metal opinion to support his position:
The Internal Revenue Service, and not the United
States, was originally named as defendant in this
action. However, the United States is correct that the
Internal Revenue Service has no capacity to sue or be
sued. Blackmar v. Guerre, 342 U.S. 512, 514, 96 L. Ed.
534, 72 S. Ct. 410 (1952). Therefore, the United
States is properly substituted for the Internal Revenue
Service in this action. [Id. at 5832 n.3, 96-2 USTC
par. 50,437, at 85,462 n.3.8]
In Blackmar v. Guerre, 342 U.S. 512 (1952), a discharged employee
of the Veterans Administration sued the United States Civil
Service Commission for reinstatement. The Court held that
“Congress has not constituted the Commission a body corporate or
authorized it to be sued eo nomine.” Id. at 514. The Court also
stated “When Congress authorizes one of its agencies to be sued
eo nomine, it does so in explicit language, or impliedly because
the agency is the offspring of such a suable entity.” Id. at
515. By citing Blackmar in support of its decision that the
8On brief, petitioner grossly mischaracterizes this footnote
as “directing that the cause of action should be against the
Commissioner of Internal Revenue personally since he is not
responsible for the conduct of others claiming to act under his
authority”.
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