United States v. Robbin

Background

The court considered Ronny Robbin and Lynette Robbin’s motion, filed without a lawyer, to suspend injunctions and halt an upcoming property sale while an appeal was pending. The United States had previously obtained a final judgment against Ronny Robbin for unpaid federal income tax liabilities for the 2003 and 2005 tax years and civil tax penalties for the 2004 and 2005 tax years.

The earlier judgment ordered that the federal tax liens connected to those liabilities be enforced against Robbin’s property and that the property be sold under a further court order. The Robbins did not timely appeal the underlying money judgment or the purpose of the sale order. They later filed two appeals. The first was dismissed for failure to prosecute. The second challenged the 2017 judgment, an order denying a motion to amend the judgment, and the September 19, 2018 order of sale.

The Robbins stated that federal agents seized the property in June 2019 and that an auction was scheduled for September 19, 2019. They asked the court to stop the sale pending appeal.

Court’s analysis

A party seeking a stay while an appeal is pending must show four things: a likely chance of success on appeal, irreparable injury without a stay, no substantial injury to the opposing party, and no harm to the public interest.

The court concluded that the Robbins could not satisfy the first requirement. It held that their later notice of appeal could challenge the order of sale but could not appeal the earlier final judgments entered in August 2017. Because those underlying judgments had not been timely appealed, the Eighth Circuit would lack jurisdiction to review them. The Robbins therefore could not show a likely chance of success on challenges related to those judgments.

Ruling

Judge Donovan W. Frank denied the Robbins’ Emergency Motion to Suspend Injunctions Pending Appeal. The order did not state that the property sale occurred.