Taylor v. US Treasury Dept. ( 1997 )

REVISED
United States Court of Appeals,
Fifth Circuit.
No. 97-50021.
Byron L. TAYLOR, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
UNITED STATES TREASURY DEPARTMENT, Internal Revenue Service,
Defendant-Appellee.
Nov. 12, 1997.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of Texas.
Before KING and JONES, Circuit Judges, and WERLEIN,* District
Judge.
PER CURIAM:
Plaintiff-appellant Byron L. Taylor appeals the district
court's dismissal of his claims for injunctive relief and
declaratory judgment against defendant-appellee the United States
Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service. We affirm
the dismissal, but remand for entry of a modified judgment
dismissing Taylor's Privacy Act claims without prejudice.
I. BACKGROUND
This case arises out of the Internal Revenue Service's ("IRS")
denial of a series of requests for information made by Taylor under
the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"), 5 U.S.C. § 552, and the
Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a.
*
District Judge of the Southern District of Texas, sitting by
designation.
1
In a letter to the IRS Compliance Center in Austin, Texas
dated September 14, 1995, Taylor requested a number of documents
pertaining to his tax liability from 1984 through 1987 under the
FOIA and the Privacy Act. Taylor identified the documents requested
by tax period, transaction code, document locator number, and,
where applicable, date. Taylor also requested that the IRS send
him copies of documents fitting the following descriptions if they
were not included among the specific documents that he listed:
(1) "all documents, letters, notices, etc., and all supporting
documents which activated the CAF (Centralized Authority File)
code on [Taylor's] IMF Transcript Specific for the tax periods
1984, 1985, 1986, and 1987;"
(2) "all documents and supporting documents which constitute
the summary record of assessment for [Taylor];" and
(3) "any documents which indicate the mailing address of
[Taylor] to be 1900 Simler Ave., Box 7038, Big Spring, Texas
79720-7701."
The IRS replied with a letter dated September 26, 1995 stating that
Taylor's request could not be honored under the FOIA because it did
not comport with regulatory requirements promulgated under the
FOIA. The IRS's letter advised that a proper FOIA request must
include, among other things, proof of the requester's identity, the
requester's social security number, and a firm commitment to pay
search and copy costs.
Taylor resubmitted his request by way of a letter dated
September 28, 1995, this time including his social security number.
The IRS responded in a letter dated November 7, 1995, which stated
that Taylor's request still failed to meet regulatory requirements
under the FOIA because it lacked proof of the requester's identity
2
and a firm commitment to pay search and copy costs. The IRS's
letter also stated that Taylor had failed to pay $187 in search
fees associated with an unrelated FOIA request that Taylor made on
June 18, 1995, and that subsequent requests would not be processed
until receipt of the search fees for the previous request.
In a letter dated November 10, 1995 that incorporated his
September 28, 1995 request by reference, Taylor provided proof of
his identity and a "firm promise to pay all costs for locating and
duplicating the requested records." The letter also voiced
Taylor's objection to the IRS's refusal to process his September 28
request on the basis of his refusal to prepay fees for his June 18
request. In a letter dated December 4, 1995, the IRS responded
that it had expended six hours searching for the records identified
in Taylor's September 28 request, and that it would provide Taylor
with copies of the requested documents upon receipt of $68 in
search fees. The IRS indicated that search fees were calculated at
a rate of "$17.00 for each hour or fraction thereof, and the first
2 hours [were] furnished at no charge."
In a letter dated December 15, 1995, Taylor responded to the
IRS's December 4 letter, claiming that no statutory authority
existed for requiring him to prepay search fees and complaining
that the search fees he was being charged were too high. Taylor
indicated that, if the IRS "insist[ed] on assessing these excessive
charges," he intended to appeal the amount of the search fees. In
a letter dated January 25, 1996, the IRS responded that § 531 of
subsection 1272 of the Internal Revenue Manual required prepayment
3
of applicable fees prior to release of records, and that § 553 of
the same subsection established the search fee rate of $17.00 per
hour or fraction thereof. The IRS also indicated that 31 C.F.R. §
1.7(f)(2) and (g)(2)(i) provided regulatory authority for the
prepayment requirement and the search fee rate charged.
Taylor appealed the IRS's refusal to provide him with copies
of the requested records without prepayment of search fees to the
IRS in Washington, D.C. Taylor argued that (1) the IRS may require
prepayment of search fees associated with a FOIA request only when
the costs associated with a request exceed $250.00, and (2) search
fees may not be charged on Privacy Act requests. The IRS denied
this appeal.
Taylor commenced this suit on May 20, 1996, seeking an
injunction compelling the IRS to produce the requested records,
declaratory judgment,1 and attorney's fees, and he subsequently
filed a motion for summary judgment. The IRS's response to the
1
Taylor's complaint requested that the court enter a
declaratory judgment establishing that
1) his request was proper under FOIA and the Privacy Act;
2) he has a right of access to all of the documents that he
requested under the Privacy Act;
3) the documents that he requested are not excepted from disclosure
under the Privacy Act;
4) the IRS was entitled to charge him only for copy fees under the
Privacy Act;
5) he has exhausted all of his administrative remedies; and
6) the district court has jurisdiction to order production of the
requested documents.
4
motion for summary judgment also contained a motion to dismiss.
The district court denied Taylor's motion for summary judgment and
granted the IRS's motion to dismiss, in part on the ground that the
court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over Taylor's Privacy Act
claims because Taylor had failed to exhaust his administrative
remedies.2 Taylor filed a timely notice of appeal.
II. DISCUSSION
The district court concluded that it lacked subject matter
jurisdiction over Taylor's claims under the Privacy Act because
Taylor had failed to exhaust his administrative remedies by making
a proper request under the Act. On this basis, the court dismissed
those claims with prejudice. Taylor contends that he made a proper
request under the Privacy Act, and thus exhausted his
administrative remedies. In the alternative, he argues that the
IRS is estopped from arguing that he failed to exhaust
administrative remedies because it never informed him of any
deficiency in the form of his Privacy Act request.
We conclude that the district court correctly held that Taylor
2
The district court dismissed Taylor's FOIA claim under Rule
12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on the ground that
the IRS possessed regulatory authority to require that Taylor pay
search fees prior to the IRS's releasing the requested records to
him. Taylor does not challenge the district court's disposition of
his claim under the FOIA.
The district court did not expressly state the basis
under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for its dismissal
of Taylor's claims under the Privacy Act. However, the IRS's
motion to dismiss requested dismissal pursuant to Rule
12(b)(1) for want of subject matter jurisdiction. Because the
district court stated that it lacked jurisdiction over
Taylor's Privacy Act claims, we conclude that it predicated
this portion of its order of dismissal on Rule 12(b)(1).
5
failed to exhaust his administrative remedies, but erred in
concluding that Taylor's failure to exhaust administrative remedies
divested it of jurisdiction over his claims. However, the district
court nonetheless properly dismissed Taylor's claim because he has
failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. We
address in turn the distinct issues of exhaustion, jurisdiction,
and the propriety of dismissal on alternative grounds.
A. Exhaustion
The district court concluded that Taylor failed to make a
proper request under the Privacy Act because his request did not
comport with applicable regulatory requirements. Specifically, the
court concluded that Taylor's Privacy Act request failed to comply
with 31 C.F.R. § 1.26(d)(1)(iii), which requires that a request for
records under the Privacy Act
[g]ive the name of the system or subsystem or categories of
records to which access is sought, as specified in the
"Privacy Act Issuances" published by the Office of the Federal
Register and referenced in the appendices to this subpart[.]
31 C.F.R. § 1.26(d)(1)(iii).3 The IRS also argues that Taylor
3
Some question exists as to whether § 1.26(d)(1)(iii) actually
applies to a request for access to records, such as the one made by
Taylor. Section 1.26(d)(1)(iii) is one of several requirements
with which a request for notification that a particular record does
or does not exist must comply. Section 1.26(d)(2) lists
requirements with which a request for access to records must comply
"in addition to complying with paragraph (a)(1)(i) through (vi) of
this section." 31 C.F.R. § 1.26(d)(2). Section 1.26(a), however,
contains no subparts. Section 1.26(d)(1), on the other hand,
contains subparts labeled (i) through (vi). We are of the opinion,
therefore, that the reference to (a)(1)(i) through (vi) in §
1.26(d)(2) was intended to be a reference to (d)(1)(i) through
(vi). In any event, Taylor does not dispute the applicability of
§ 1.26(d)(1)(iii) to requests for access to records generally, nor
does he complain that the typographical error in the regulations
deprived him of adequate notice of the requirement that he list the
6
failed to comply with additional regulations specific to the IRS's
Privacy Act compliance procedure that require a requesting party to
identify the location of the systems to be searched as well as the
business address of the official designated in the access section
of the Notice of Systems entry for the system printed in the
Privacy Act Issuances. See 31 C.F.R. pt. 1, subpt. C app. B.
Taylor's Privacy Act requests plainly did not comply with the above
regulations because he did not list the systems that he wished to
have searched, their location, and the business address of the
systems officer provided in the Notice of Systems.4
Taylor contends that the above regulatory requirements are
inapplicable to his request because "the documents [he requested]
are not identified in the Federal Register." Taylor is correct in
stating that the particular documents that he has requested are not
individually listed in the Federal Register; rather, the Federal
Register lists systems of documents that may be searched. See,
e.g., Privacy Act of 1974: Systems of Records, 60 Fed.Reg. 56,648
(1995). Taylor may determine from the descriptions of records and
persons covered by the systems contained in the Federal Register
systems of records that he desired to have searched.
4
Taylor argues, and the IRS concedes, that search fees are not
chargeable under the Privacy Act. See 5 U.S.C. § 552a(f)(5) ("In
order to carry out the provisions of this section, each agency that
maintains a system of records shall promulgate rules ... which
shall ... establish fees to be charged, if any, to any individual
for making copies of his record, excluding the cost of any search
for and review of the record.")(emphasis added). Thus, Taylor's
refusal to pay search fees does not constitute a procedural barrier
to his Privacy Act request in the same sense that it does to his
FOIA request.
7
which systems may contain the types of records that he seeks and
make his requests accordingly. See 1 JUSTIN D. FRANKLIN & ROBERT F.
BOUCHARD, GUIDEBOOK TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND PRIVACY ACTS § 3.04[3]
(2d ed.1997) (discussing a variety of methods for locating records
available under the Privacy Act).
Taylor also argues that his Privacy Act request was sufficient
because he provided the IRS with the transaction code, locator
number, and date of issuance when available for the documents that
he requested. Taylor contends that this constitutes a reasonable
description of the requested documents, and a reasonable
description is all that the Privacy Act requires. However, the
cases upon which Taylor relies for this proposition address the
description of documents required for FOIA requests rather than
Privacy Act requests. See Marks v. United States Dep't of Justice,
578 F.2d 261 (9th Cir.1978); Reeves v. United States, Nos. CV-S-
94-1291-DFL-PAN, CV-S-94-1292-DFL-JFM, 1994 WL 782235 (E.D.Cal.
Nov.16, 1994).5 While the regulations promulgated under the FOIA
require only a reasonable description of the requested documents,
see 26 C.F.R. § 601.702(c)(4), as indicated by the regulations
discussed above, the Privacy Act possesses much more specific
requirements for describing requested documents—requirements with
which Taylor's request did not comply.
5
Reeves actually involved Privacy Act requests as well, but
the court dismissed one of the plaintiffs' Privacy Act requests on
precisely the same basis as the district court in this case: the
plaintiffs failed to specify the name and location of the systems
of records that they desired to have searched. See Reeves, 1994 WL
782235, at *3.
8
In the alternative, Taylor contends that the IRS is estopped
from arguing that he failed to exhaust his administrative remedies
because (1) the IRS actually found the records he requested and (2)
the letters from the Disclosure Office never informed him that his
Privacy Act request failed to comport with regulatory requirements.
Taylor's claim lacks merit. "Equitable estoppel is a doctrine that
is rarely valid against the government." United States v. Bloom,
112 F.3d 200, 205 (5th Cir.1997). In order to establish estoppel
against the government, a party must establish affirmative
government misconduct in addition to the four traditional elements
of estoppel, which include proof
(1) that the party to be estopped was aware of the facts, and
(2) intended his act or omission to be acted upon; [and] (3)
that the party asserting estoppel did not have knowledge of
the facts, and (4) reasonably relied on the conduct of the
other to his substantial injury.
Id. We need not reach the issue of whether Taylor has established
the traditional elements of estoppel because he has alleged no
affirmative misconduct on the part of the IRS. He simply states
that the IRS found the records that he requested and failed to
inform him of any procedural deficiency in his Privacy Act request.
These allegations allow no inference of affirmative misconduct, and
thus provide no basis for estopping the IRS from asserting the
procedural shortcomings of Taylor's Privacy Act request.
Taylor's failure to present a request that comported with
applicable Privacy Act regulations constituted a failure to exhaust
administrative remedies because, as a technical matter, the IRS
never denied a properly framed request for access to records. See
9
Graphics of Key West, Inc. v. United States, No. CV-N-93-718-ECR,
1996 WL 167861, at *7 (D.Nev. Feb.5, 1996) (dismissing FOIA claim
for failure to exhaust administrative remedies on basis that
plaintiffs' FOIA requests failed to meet regulatory requirements);
Kessler v. United States, 899 F.Supp. 644, 645 (D.D.C.1995) (same);
Lilienthal v. Parks, 574 F.Supp. 14, 18 (E.D.Ark.1983) (dismissing
Privacy Act claim for failure to exhaust administrative remedies on
ground that plaintiff's Privacy Act request failed to comply with
regulations regarding verification of the requester's identity);
Reith v. Internal Revenue Service, Civ. No. F 80-87, 1980 WL 1659,
at *5 (N.D.Ind. Sept.10, 1980) (dismissing plaintiff's FOIA claim
on ground that plaintiff's failure to make a proper FOIA request
constituted a failure to exhaust administrative remedies); White
v. Loury, Civ. No. C78-144, 1978 WL 4499, at *3 (N.D.Ohio May 30,
1978) (same); cf. American Fed'n of Gov't Employees v. U.S. Dep't
of Commerce, 907 F.2d 203, 209 (D.C.Cir.1990) (rejecting
plaintiff's claim that government agency should have waived search
fees associated with its FOIA request on ground that plaintiff
failed to exhaust administrative remedies by requesting such a
waiver from the agency). We turn next to the legal effect of
Taylor's failure to exhaust administrative remedies.6
6
The IRS has predicated all of its arguments in this case on
the proposition that Taylor failed to exhaust his administrative
remedies by failing to make a proper Privacy Act request; the
district court accepted the IRS's position, and Taylor's appeal is
addressed to it. As indicated above, substantial legal authority
exists for the proposition that failure to submit a proper request
constitutes a failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
Accordingly, we have disposed of the case on this ground.
10
B. Subject Matter Jurisdiction
The district court concluded that Taylor's failure to exhaust
administrative remedies divested it of jurisdiction to hear his
Privacy Act claims. Whether the district court possessed subject
matter jurisdiction over Taylor's claims against the IRS
constitutes a question of law. See In re Grand Jury Proceedings,
115 F.3d 1240, 1243 (5th Cir.1997). Accordingly, we review the
district court's dismissal of Taylor's claims for want of subject
matter jurisdiction de novo. See id.Contrary to the district court's conclusion, exhaustion of
administrative remedies under the Privacy Act is not a
jurisdictional prerequisite. Whenever the Congress statutorily
mandates that a claimant exhaust administrative remedies, the
exhaustion requirement is jurisdictional because it is tantamount
However, the case arguably need not be regarded as
presenting a question of exhaustion at all. The Privacy Act
provides federal district courts with jurisdiction to "enjoin
the agency from withholding the records and order the
production to the complainant of any agency records improperly
withheld from him." 5 U.S.C. §552a(g)(3)(A) (emphasis added).
Section 552a(g)(3)(A) indicates that the administrative procedure
with which Taylor failed to comply—submission of a properly framed
request—is a necessary element of Taylor's claim for injunctive
relief.
Taylor's requests, which are attached as exhibits to his
complaint, manifestly indicate that he never made a proper
Privacy Act request because his requests do not specify the
name, location, and business address of the officer
responsible for disclosures of the systems, subsystems, and
groups of records that he desired to have searched as required
by applicable regulations. Thus, the face of Taylor's
complaint indicates that he has failed to state a claim upon
which relief can be granted. Under this theory of the case,
to the extent that Taylor never presented the IRS with a
proper Privacy Act request, the IRS never improperly withheld
records from him.
11
to a legislative investiture of exclusive original jurisdiction in
the agency. See, e.g., Meliezer v. Resolution Trust Co., 952 F.2d
879, 882 (5th Cir.1992) (observing that Congress's power to vest an
agency with exclusive original jurisdiction indicates that a
statutory exhaustion requirement is jurisdictional); Townsend v.
United States Dep't of Justice Immigration & Naturalization Serv.,
799 F.2d 179, 181 (5th Cir.1986) ("When exhaustion is statutorily
mandated, the requirement is jurisdictional.").
However, in the absence of a statutory requirement of
exhaustion of administrative remedies, the jurisprudential doctrine
of exhaustion controls. See McKart v. United States, 395 U.S. 185,
193-94, 89 S.Ct. 1657, 1662, 23 L.Ed.2d 194 (1969) (discussing
"judicial application of the exhaustion doctrine in cases where the
statutory requirement of exclusivity [of an agency's jurisdiction]
is not so explicit"). The jurisprudential exhaustion doctrine is
not jurisdictional in nature. See Information Resources, Inc. v.
United States, 950 F.2d 1122, 1126 (5th Cir.1992) (observing that
courts have greater discretion in applying the judicially created
exhaustion doctrine than the statutory exhaustion requirement
because the latter is jurisdictional); Central States S.E. & S.W.
Areas Pension Fund v. T.I.M.E.-DC, Inc., 826 F.2d 320, 326 (5th
Cir.1987) (noting the distinction between exhaustion of
administrative remedies as "a statutorily mandated jurisdictional
prerequisite" and "the "prudential,' judicial doctrine requiring
such exhaustion"); Ainsworth Aristocrat Int'l Pty. Ltd. v. Tourism
Co., 818 F.2d 1034, 1039 & n. 26 (1st Cir.1987) (observing that
12
"the requirement that a plaintiff exhaust its administrative
remedies is not a strict jurisdictional requirement" unless "the
plaintiff's cause of action is provided by a statute that also
establishes a scheme of administrative remedies and requires that
the plaintiff exhaust these remedies before seeking judicial
relief"); I.A.M. Nat'l Pension Fund Benefit Plan C v. Stockton TRI
Indus., 727 F.2d 1204, 1208 (D.C.Cir.1984) ("Only when Congress
states in clear, unequivocal terms that the judiciary is barred
from hearing an action until the administrative agency has come to
a decision ... has the Supreme Court held that exhaustion is a
jurisdictional prerequisite." (footnote omitted)); Holloway v.
Gunnell, 685 F.2d 150, 152 n. 2 (5th Cir.1982) (concluding that
exhaustion of administrative remedies in a Bivens-type action was
not a jurisdictional prerequisite, but rather a defense subject to
waiver like any other).
The Privacy Act contains no express statutory requirement of
exhaustion of administrative remedies. Section 552a(d)(1)
establishes a duty for federal agencies to provide requesting
parties with access to records:
(d) Access to records.—Each agency that maintains a system of
records shall—
(1) upon request by any individual to gain access to his
record or to any information pertaining to him which is
contained in the system, permit him and upon his request, a
person of his own choosing to accompany him, to review the
record and have a copy made of all or any portion thereof in
a form comprehensible to him, except that the agency may
require the individual to furnish a written statement
authorizing discussion of that individual's record in the
accompanying person's presence[.]
5 U.S.C. § 552a(d)(1). Section 552a(g)(1) of the Act, which vests
13
federal district courts with jurisdiction over claims for
violations of the Privacy Act, provides in relevant part as
follows:
(g)(1) Civil remedies—Whenever any agency
...
(B) refuses to comply with an individual request under
subsection (d)(1) of this section[,]
...
the individual may bring a civil action against the agency,
and the district courts of the United States shall have
jurisdiction in the matters under the provisions of this
subsection.
Id. § 552a(g)(1). Section 552a(g)(3)(A) goes on to provide as
follows:
(3)(A) In any suit brought under the provisions of subsection
(g)(1)(B) of this section, the court may enjoin the agency
from withholding the records and order the production to the
complainant of any agency records improperly withheld from
him.
Id. § 552a(g)(3)(A). The language in the above provisions does not
expressly require exhaustion of particular administrative remedies,
and more specifically does not require a requesting party to
fashion the request in any particular way. It plainly does not
constitute the "clear, unequivocal" manifestation of Congressional
intent necessary to render exhaustion of administrative remedies a
jurisdictional prerequisite. I.A.M. Nat'l Pension Fund Benefit
Plan C, 727 F.2d at 1208; cf. Hedley v. United States, 594 F.2d
1043, 1044 (5th Cir.1979) (observing that the FOIA does "not
expressly require that a claimant exhaust his administrative
remedies prior to requesting judicial relief"). We therefore
14
conclude that Taylor's failure to exhaust administrative remedies
did not constitute a jurisdictional bar to assertion of his claim
in federal district court. However, our inquiry does not end here
because we conclude that application of the jurisprudential
exhaustion doctrine in this case indicates that Taylor has failed
to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
C. Failure to State a Claim
The jurisprudential exhaustion doctrine is a "long settled
rule of judicial administration [which mandates] that no one is
entitled to judicial relief for a supposed or threatened injury
until the prescribed administrative remedy has been exhausted."
Myers v. Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., 303 U.S. 41, 50-51, 58 S.Ct.
459, 463-64, 82 L.Ed. 638 (1938). The doctrine serves
(1) to avoid premature interruption of the administrative
process; (2) to let the agency develop the necessary factual
background upon which decisions should be based; (3) to
permit the agency to exercise its discretion or apply its
expertise; (4) to improve the efficiency of the
administrative process; (5) to conserve scarce judicial
resources, since the complaining party may be successful in
vindicating rights in the administrative process and the
courts may never have to intervene; (6) to give the agency a
chance to discover and correct its own errors; and (7) to
avoid the possibility that "frequent and deliberate flouting
of administrative processes could weaken the effectiveness of
an agency by encouraging people to ignore its procedures."
Patsy v. Florida Int'l Univ., 634 F.2d 900, 903 (5th Cir. Jan.1981)
(en banc) (quoting McKart, 395 U.S. at 193-95, 89 S.Ct. at 1662-
63), rev'd and remanded on other grounds sub nom., Patsy v. Board
of Regents, 457 U.S. 496, 102 S.Ct. 2557, 73 L.Ed.2d 172 (1982).
While courts have discretion in applying the jurisprudential
exhaustion requirement, see Information Resources, Inc., 950 F.2d
15at 1126, the exercise of that discretion is circumscribed in that
a court should only excuse a claimant's failure to exhaust
administrative remedies in extraordinary circumstances. See
Central States S.E. & S.W. Areas Pension Fund, 826 F.2d at 329.
Traditional circumstances in which courts have excused a claimant's
failure to exhaust administrative remedies include situations in
which (1) the unexhausted administrative remedy would be plainly
inadequate, (2) the claimant has made a constitutional challenge
that would remain standing after exhaustion of the administrative
remedy, (3) the adequacy of the administrative remedy is
essentially coextensive with the merits of the claim (e.g., the
claimant contends that the administrative process itself is
unlawful), and (4) exhaustion of administrative remedies would be
futile because the administrative agency will clearly reject the
claim. See Patsy, 634 F.2d at 903-04.
None of the traditional exceptions to the general rule
requiring exhaustion of administrative remedies applies in this
case. First, the unexhausted administrative remedy—the making of
a Privacy Act request that comports with regulatory requirements—is
not plainly inadequate. To the contrary, the making of such a
request would entitle Taylor to receipt of the documents that he
has requested to the extent that they fall within the Privacy Act's
disclosure requirements. Second, Taylor has made no constitutional
challenge. Third, Taylor has not challenged the lawfulness of the
Privacy Act regulations with which his request failed to comply.
Fourth, Taylor has not demonstrated that submission of a proper
16
request would be futile because he has offered no basis upon which
to conclude that the IRS would deny a properly formulated request.
In sum, we cannot say that this case presents exceptional
circumstances that warrant excepting Taylor from the general rule
that he must exhaust the administrative remedies available to him
before seeking judicial relief.
This is not to say that we do not sympathize with Taylor's
position. This lawsuit would likely never have occurred had the
IRS simply informed Taylor that it could not process his request
under the Privacy Act because his request failed to state the name,
location, and address of the officer in charge of the systems,
subsystems, or groups of records that he desired to have searched.7
We also recognize that submission of a request including this
information is a largely empty gesture in light of the IRS's
admission in its brief that it has already "searched for and found
7
It appears that the IRS may have had an obligation under
applicable regulations to inform Taylor that his Privacy Act
request did not conform to the IRS's regulatory requirements.
Section 1.26(g)(4) of Title 31 of the Code of Federal Regulations
states in part as follows:
When it is determined that the request for ... access to
records will be denied (whether in whole or in part or
subject to conditions or exceptions), the person making
the request shall be so notified by mail in accordance
with paragraph (g)(1) of this section. The letter of
notification shall ... contain a statement of the reasons
for not granting the request as made[.]
31 C.F.R. § 1.26(g)(4). However, because Taylor does not
argue that the IRS has failed to comply with § 1.26(g)(4), we
express no opinion as to the effect of this regulation on
suits in which an agency justifies its denial of a Privacy Act
request during judicial review on grounds different than those
communicated to the requesting party at the time of the
denial.
17
the requested documents." Nonetheless, as Justice Holmes once
observed, "Men must turn square corners when they deal with the
Government." Rock Island, A. & L.R. Co. v. United States, 254 U.S.
141, 143, 41 S.Ct. 55, 56, 65 L.Ed. 188 (1920). The exhaustion
doctrine dictates that Taylor's claims under the Privacy Act must
be dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be
granted.
Taylor's appropriate remedy in this case is submission of a
Privacy Act request that complies with the regulatory requirements
discussed in Part II.A, supra. He is, of course, free to file
another complaint if the IRS refuses to comply with a properly
framed request. To that extent, the district court should have
dismissed his Privacy Act claims pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) without
prejudice.8 See Seniority Research Group v. Chrysler Motor Corp.,
976 F.2d 1185, 1189 (8th Cir.1992) ("The normal consequence of a
holding that a plaintiff has failed to exhaust intra-union remedies
is a dismissal without prejudice. The plaintiff, once these
remedies are exhausted, if complete relief has not been obtained,
can return to court.").
III. CONCLUSION
8
Rule 12(b)(6) forms a proper basis for dismissal for failure
to exhaust administrative remedies. See 5A CHARLES ALAN WRIGHT & ARTHUR
R. MILLER, FEDERAL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE § 1360, at 433 (2d ed. 1990)
("Rule 12(b)(6) also has been used to make a motion to dismiss
because of a plaintiff's failure to exhaust administrative remedies
...." (footnote omitted)). Such a motion may be without prejudice.
See 2 JAMES WM. MOORE ET AL., MOORE'S FEDERAL PRACTICE § 12.34[6][a] (3d
ed. 1997) ("A dismissal for failure to state a claim ... [is]
presumed to be with prejudice unless the order explicitly states
otherwise ...." (emphasis added)).
18
For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM the district court's
dismissal of Taylor's Privacy Act claims, but REMAND with
instructions that the district court modify its judgment so as to
dismiss these claims without prejudice.
19