Jewell v. United States

The Internal Revenue Service issued four summonses to banks in the Eastern and Western Districts of Oklahoma for records involving nursing homes owned by Sam Jewell. Under federal law, the IRS had to notify Jewell at least 23 days before the examination date. Because the IRS waited too long to mail the notices, Jewell received the notices less than 23 days before the records were to be examined. Alleging inadequate notice, Jewell filed petitions to quash the summonses. The two courts split on how to interpret the notice requirement: the Western District of Oklahoma granted the government's summary judgment motion and denied Jewell's petition to quash, noting that he received the summonses in time to file his petition; the Eastern District of Oklahoma granted Jewell's petition to quash and denied the government's motion to dismiss, reasoning that the IRS failed to comply with the notice requirement. Jewell appealed the Western District's ruling, and the government appeals the Eastern District's. The Tenth Circuit held that the IRS could not obtain an order enforcing the summonses, affirming the ruling of the Eastern District of Oklahoma and reversing the ruling of the Western District of Oklahoma (with instructions to grant Jewell's petition to quash the two summonses).View "Jewell v. United States" on Justia Law