United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit

908 F.
2d 966
Unpublished Disposition
NOTICE: Fourth Circuit I.O.P. 36.6 states that citation of

unpublished dispositions is disfavored except for establishing
res judicata, estoppel, or the law of the case and requires
service of copies of cited unpublished dispositions of the Fourth
Circuit.
Wayne H. DELONG, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, J.H. Thomas, DefendantsAppellees,
and
S.W. BROOKS, G.E. Sutton, D.G. Spannbauer, Unknown
Federal
Internal Revenue Service Agents, whose names are
indicated by the records of the Internal
Revenue Service, Defendants.
No. 89-2206.
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Submitted April 10, 1990.
Decided July 10, 1990.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of
Virginia, at Roanoke. James C. Turk, Chief District Judge. (C/A No. 88448-R)
Wayne H. DeLong, appellant pro se.
Gary R. Allen, Ann Belanger Durney, Kenneth W. Rosenberg, United
States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., John Perry Alderman,
Office of the United States Attorney, Roanoke, Va., for appellees.
W.D.Va.
AFFIRMED.
Before K.K. HALL, SPROUSE and WILKINS, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:
Wayne H. DeLong appeals from the district court's order dismissing his
Bivens1 tort action. DeLong named the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Agents
Thomas, Brooks, Sutton, Spannbauer, and unknown agents indicated by IRS
records as defendants, each in his individual capacity. The IRS was dismissed
on sovereign immunity grounds, and defendants Brooks, Sutton, and
Spannbauer were dismissed for lack of proper service. DeLong appeals only the
court's dismissal of the IRS and Agent Thomas. The claims that remained were
as follows: (1) Thomas commenced an unlawful investigation under color of
law that resulted in deprivation of property without due process of law; (2)
Thomas committed fraud, perjury, slander, and libel when he delivered to a
third party a "Notice of Levy on Wages, Salary, and Other Income," which
stated that a lawful lien was placed on DeLong's property and specified the
amount owed; (3) Thomas failed to make demand or give notice before
DeLong's property was seized; (4) Thomas committed wire fraud; and (5) on or
about March 23, 1988, Thomas proceeded onto DeLong's property beyond a
locked gate with a sign saying "No Trespassing."
The district court noted that the complaint stated that defendants acted "under
color of law," "under the color of office," and "under the color of authority" and
found that, although the defendants were sued in their individual capacities, the
use of such language indicated they were actually being sued in their official
capacities. The court held that suing individuals in this fashion could not be
used to circumvent the bar of sovereign immunity.
The only distinction, however, between personal-capacity and official-capacity

suits is on whom the plaintiff is seeking to impose liability; in both cases, the
official is acting under color of law. See Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159
(1985); see also Todd v. United States, 849 F.2d 365 (9th Cir.1988) (court
dismissed suit against agents sued in their official capacities on sovereign
immunity grounds but declined to dismiss those sued in their individual
capacities); accord Ecclesiastical Order of the Ism of Am, Inc. v. Chasin, 845
F.2d 113 (6th Cir.1988). DeLong's statement that his suit is against Thomas,
individually, for violation of his constitutional rights under color of law renders
it a personal-capacity suit.2
While the defense of sovereign immunity is unavailable to those sued in

personal-capacity suits, defenses of absolute or qualified immunity may still be
available. Graham, 473 U.S. at 166-67. Government officials performing a

discretionary function are immune from damage suits "insofar as their conduct
does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a
reasonable person would have known." Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818
(1982). The refashioning of the qualified immunity doctrine by the Harlow
court was designed to permit the resolution of many insubstantial claims on
summary judgment. Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 526 (1985). Unless the
complaint alleges a violation of clearly established law, a defendant pleading
qualified immunity is entitled to dismissal before commencement of discovery.
Id.
5
Thomas is entitled to qualified immunity because his actions were clearly

authorized by specific provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. See I.R.C.
Secs. 6323, 6331, 6332, 7601. Even if notice was not given before DeLong's
property was levied in accordance with I.R.C. Sec. 6331(d), Thomas does not
lose his qualified immunity. See Davis v. Scherer, 468 U.S. 183 (1984)
(qualified immunity for violation of constitutional rights is not lost for failure to
adhere to some statutory or administrative provision); see also Augustine v.
McDonald, 770 F.2d 1442, 1445 (9th Cir.1985) (allegation that violation of
state garnishment statute resulted in due process violation insufficient to defeat
qualified immunity).
DeLong's various tort claims must be brought under the Federal Tort Claims
Act, 28 U.S.C. Secs. 2671 et seq.3 However, because the FTCA explicitly bars
damages actions arising from assessment or collection of taxes, DeLong is not
entitled to damages. See 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2680(c).4
DeLong raises numerous other claims which are also without merit. We
therefore affirm the district court's dismissal. DeLong v. Internal Revenue
Service, C/A No. 88-448-R (W.D.Va. Sept. 7, 1989). We dispense with oral
argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in
the materials before the Court and argument would not aid the decisional
process.
AFFIRMED.
Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Fed. Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S.
388 (1971)
Each of the cases the district court cited supports its holding that simply
naming an individual as a federal defendant will not preclude the defense of

sovereign immunity. See, e.g., Gilbert v. DaGrossa, 756 F.2d 1455, 1458 (9th
Cir.1985). However, Gilbert goes on to state that those defendants sued in their
individual capacities for violations of constitutional rights should not be
dismissed on grounds of sovereign immunity. Id
DeLong claims that it is a question of fact whether Thomas was acting within
the scope of his employment when he committed the alleged torts so as to bring
his claims under the FTCA. However, if Thomas was not acting within the
scope of his employment, then his claims are merely common law tort claims
for which state court would be the appropriate forum. Thus, to determine
whether DeLong is entitled to any recovery at all in federal court, it is
necessary to assume that Thomas was acting within the scope of his
employment
I.R.C. Sec. 7433 provides for a damages remedy for reckless or intentional
disregard for any tax law while collecting taxes. However, DeLong filed his
complaint before the effective date of this provision

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908 F.

NOTICE: Fourth Circuit I.O.P. 36.6 states that citation of

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Before K.K. HALL, SPROUSE and WILKINS, Circuit Judges.

The only distinction, however, between personal-capacity and official-capacity

While the defense of sovereign immunity is unavailable to those sued in

available. Graham, 473 U.S. at 166-67. Government officials performing a

Thomas is entitled to qualified immunity because his actions were clearly

naming an individual as a federal defendant will not preclude the defense of

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