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Mandy Mobley Li v. Comm'r

Mandy Mobley Li v. Comm'r

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

November 5, 2021, Argued; January 11, 2022, Decided

No. 20-1245

Opinion

 [*1014]  Sentelle, Senior Circuit Judge:  [*1015]  Appellant Mandy Mobley Li appeals the United States Tax Court's final decision awarding summary judgment to the IRS Commissioner in her whistleblower case. Specifically, the Tax Court held that the IRS Whistleblower Office ("WBO") did not abuse its discretion in rejecting Li's request for a whistleblower award, since Li provided only vague and speculative information as to purported tax violations. For the reasons explained below, we dismiss this appeal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and remand to the Tax Court with [**2]  instructions to do the same.1

I. Background

On December 12, 2018, Li filed a Form 211 with the WBO alleging four tax violations by a third party (the "target taxpayer"). A Form 211 is an application to receive a monetary whistleblower award for supplying the IRS with actionable tax violation information, pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 7623(b). A WBO classifier reviewed Li's Form 211, as well as the target taxpayer's 2016 and 2017 tax returns, and concluded that Li's allegations were "speculative and/or did not provide specific or credible information regarding tax underpayments or violations of internal revenue laws," making Li ineligible for an award. Therefore, the WBO did not forward Li's form to an IRS examiner for any potential action against the target taxpayer. The WBO communicated its decision by letter to Li on February 8, 2019 and informed her that she could appeal to the United States Tax Court if she thought the WBO had erred. Li did so by petition on March 13, 2019. Neither party identified a jurisdictional issue with the Tax Court's review of the case. The Commissioner subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment, which the Tax Court granted. The Tax Court found that the WBO adequately performed [**3]  its evaluative function in reviewing Li's application and did not abuse its discretion by rejecting it for an award. Li then filed a motion for reconsideration. After the Tax Court denied the motion, Li appealed to this Court.

II. Analysis

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22 F.4th 1014 *; 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 697 **; 2022-1 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) P50,103

MANDY MOBLEY LI, APPELLANT v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, APPELLEE

Subsequent History: Rehearing denied by Mobley Li v. Comm'r, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 7276 (D.C. Cir., Mar. 18, 2022)

Rehearing denied by, En banc Mobley Li v. Comm'r, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 7274 (D.C. Cir., Mar. 18, 2022)

Stay denied by Li v. Comm'r, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 8955 (D.C. Cir., Apr. 4, 2022)

Prior History:  [**1] On Appeal from a Decision and Order of the United States Tax Court.

CORE TERMS

whistleblower, threshold, target, speculative, violations, taxpayer, parties, awards

Tax Law, Tax Court, Appeals From Tax Court, Jurisdiction, Federal Tax Administration & Procedures, Governments, Courts, Authority to Adjudicate, Labor & Employment Law, Retaliation, Statutory Application, Whistleblower Protection Act, Audits & Investigations