Mertes v. IRS, No. 19-1218, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 131612 (E.D. Cal. July 24, 2020) (Ishii, J.)

Mertes v. IRS, No. 19-1218, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 131612 (E.D. Cal. July 24, 2020) (Ishii, J.)

Re:  Request for United States Gift Tax Form used to assess gift taxes against plaintiff for tax year 2012

Disposition:  Renoticing defendant's motion for summary judgment

• Litigation Considerations, In Camera Inspection & Vaughn Index/Declaration:  "[T]he Court will reset the IRS's motion for summary judgment, but will order the IRS to file a supplement that contains the information described above."  "The IRS has submitted the above described documents to the Court, and the Court has reviewed them in camera."  The court finds that "the IRS has not adequately explained why the specific exemption relied upon by the IRS cannot be disclosed."  "The Court understands that the IRS has legitimate concerns about the exemption at issue."  "However, no cases have been identified in which the United States was relieved from publicly identifying the exemption claimed, and the briefing does not adequately explain why the IRS cannot publicly identify the particular exemption at issue."  "Identifying the particular exemption does not defeat the exemption or disclose the information that is the subject[] of that exemption."  "[T]he Court otherwise agrees that disclosure of further information would likely defeat the point of the particular exemption claimed."