Judges: Per Curiam
Filed: Dec. 13, 2016
Latest Update: Mar. 03, 2020
Summary: NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION To be cited only in accordance with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit Chicago, Illinois 60604 Submitted December 12, 2016* Decided December 13, 2016 Before MICHAEL S. KANNE, Circuit Judge ANN CLAIRE WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge DAVID F. HAMILTON, Circuit Judge No. 16-1444 SIMEON LEWIS, Appeal from the United States District Plaintiff-Appellant, Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. v. No. 14-cv-7173 BNSF RA
Summary: NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION To be cited only in accordance with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit Chicago, Illinois 60604 Submitted December 12, 2016* Decided December 13, 2016 Before MICHAEL S. KANNE, Circuit Judge ANN CLAIRE WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge DAVID F. HAMILTON, Circuit Judge No. 16-1444 SIMEON LEWIS, Appeal from the United States District Plaintiff-Appellant, Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. v. No. 14-cv-7173 BNSF RAI..
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NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION
To be cited only in accordance with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1
United States Court of Appeals
For the Seventh Circuit
Chicago, Illinois 60604
Submitted December 12, 2016*
Decided December 13, 2016
Before
MICHAEL S. KANNE, Circuit Judge
ANN CLAIRE WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge
DAVID F. HAMILTON, Circuit Judge
No. 16‐1444
SIMEON LEWIS, Appeal from the United States District
Plaintiff‐Appellant, Court for the Northern District of Illinois,
Eastern Division.
v.
No. 14‐cv‐7173
BNSF RAILWAY COMPANY and
MATTHEW K. ROSE, John Z. Lee,
Defendants‐Appellees. Judge.
O R D E R
Simeon Lewis, who also uses the name Simeon Washa Amen Ra, describes
himself as “an indigenous inhabitant traveler” and also as “One of We the People.” His
employer, BNSF Railway Company, has been withholding money from Lewis’s
paychecks for (1) current federal income taxes, (2) back taxes for which the IRS has
served the company with a notice of levy, and (3) delinquent child support for which a
* We have agreed unanimously to decide the case without oral argument because
the briefs and record adequately present the facts and legal arguments, and oral
argument would not significantly aid the court. See FED. R. APP. P. 34(a)(2)(C).
No. 16‐1444 Page 2
circuit court in Cook County, Illinois, has issued garnishment orders. In this action,
which accuses BNSF and one of its executives of violating the federal Constitution and
Illinois law, Lewis seeks to halt further deductions from his pay and the return of
amounts already collected.
The district court, adopting a magistrate judge’s recommendation, dismissed the
action. First, the court reasoned, the Anti‐Injunction Act, 26 U.S.C. § 7421(a), precludes
it from exercising subject‐matter jurisdiction over claims intended to thwart the
collection of income tax. See United States v. Am. Friends Serv. Comm., 419 U.S. 7, 9–10
(1974) (concluding that § 7421(a) precluded suit challenging withholding of income tax);
Cleveland v. C.I.R., 600 F.3d 739, 740, 742 (7th Cir. 2010) (concluding that § 7421(a)
precluded action challenging IRS’s use of “lock‐in letter” that directed employer to
disregard Forms W‐4 submitted by taxpayer and withhold tax at specified rate);
Stefanelli v. Silvestri, 524 F. Supp. 1317, 1318–19 (D. Nev. 1981) (explaining that lawsuit
challenging employer’s refusal to honor taxpayer’s Forms W‐4 after receiving “lock‐in
letter” from IRS, although “styled as one seeking relief against the Defendants in their
capacity as an employer of the Plaintiff,” in fact was “an action to enjoin the
Government from collecting taxes”), aff’d, 698 F.2d 1232 (9th Cir. 1982). Second, the
district court continued, an employer cannot be liable for complying with an IRS notice
of levy. See 26 U.S.C. § 3403; Burda v. M. Ecker Co., 2 F.3d 769, 775 (7th Cir. 1993); Edgar v.
Inland Steel Co., 744 F.2d 1276, 1278 (7th Cir. 1984). And, finally, the court concluded, the
Rooker‐Feldman doctrine, see D.C. Court of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462, 482 (1983),
Rooker v. Fid. Trust Co., 263 U.S. 413, 416 (1923), divests it of subject‐matter jurisdiction
to review the Illinois court’s orders garnishing Lewis’s wages to pay overdue child
support. See Sykes v. Cook Cnty. Cir. Ct. Prob. Div., 837 F.3d 736, 742–43 (7th Cir. 2016);
T.W. v. Brophy, 124 F.3d 893, 898 (7th Cir. 1997).
Lewis appeals the dismissal, but the district court’s analysis adequately disposes
of his contentions. Lewis’s brief frivolously challenges the existence of the circuit court’s
child‐support orders and repeats other frivolous theories that have been rejected in
other cases. See Towe Antique Ford Found. v. I.R.S., 999 F.2d 1387, 1394 (9th Cir. 1993)
(reiterating that taxpayer does not have right to judicial hearing before IRS levy
becomes enforceable); Bright v. Bechtel Petroleum, Inc., 780 F.2d 766, 768, 770 (9th Cir.
1986) (concluding that employee’s lawsuit, pleaded as contract action and challenging
employer’s withholding of income tax pursuant to IRS directive, was barred by Anti‐
Injunction Act); Maxfield v. U.S. Postal Serv., 752 F.2d 433, 433–34 (9th Cir. 1984)
(concluding that Anti‐Injunction Act prevented court from considering taxpayer’s
No. 16‐1444 Page 3
argument that employer was required to accept assertion on Form W‐4 that he was
exempt from paying income taxes). We warn Lewis that further litigation of this kind
may subject him to sanctions.
AFFIRMED.