Supreme Court Report

Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →

Charles R. Hunter v. United States, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, No. 18-1728 · judgment April 30, 2019


Certiorari denied · November 12, 2019
Pre-decision estimate: 3% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Questions presented

  1. Whether a quiet title action brought against the government pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2410(a) requires the taxpayer to retain a legal interest in the subject property, as the Sixth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits hold, or whether the attachment of a federal tax lien to the subject property is sufficient alone to abrogate the government’s sovereign immunity under that provision, as the Third and Fifth Circuits hold.

  2. Whether the government may lawfully invoke its sovereign immunity to a taxpayer’s 28 U.S.C. § 2410(a) claim after luring the taxpayer into ceding his legal interest in the subject property and concluding an undisclosed side agreement with a third party to dispose of the property for a fraction of its actual worth.

  3. Whether the government may selectively deplete a taxpayer’s assets by voluntarily forfeiting the fair market value realized from the sale of his home and recouping the shortfall by levying on his remaining assets.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Daniel William Weininger
Abraham & Rose, P.L.C.

For respondent
Noel John Francisco
Jones Day

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Linked docket
19A78

Proceedings

  1. Nov 12 2019
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Oct 23 2019
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/8/2019.
  3. Oct 15 2019
    Waiver of right of respondents United States of America, et al. to respond filed.
  4. Oct 08 2019
    Waiver of right of respondent Sterling Mortgage and Investment Company to respond filed.
  5. Sep 27 2019
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 1, 2019)
  6. Sep 11 2019
    Application (19A78) granted by Justice Sotomayor extending the time to file until September 27, 2019.
  7. Aug 30 2019
    Application (19A78) to extend further the time from September 12, 2019 to September 27, 2019, submitted to Justice Sotomayor.
  8. Jul 18 2019
    Application (19A78) granted by Justice Sotomayor extending the time to file until September 12, 2019.
  9. Jul 15 2019
    Application (19A78) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from July 29, 2019 to September 12, 2019, submitted to Justice Sotomayor.