Page:Hook v. United States.pdf/14

 content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” (internal quotation marks omitted)).

Ms. Hook challenges the district court’s conclusion that her claim for damages under 26 U.S.C. § 7432, based on the IRS’s failure to release tax liens, should be dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6) because she did not exhaust her administrative remedies. Section 7432(a) authorizes suits for the failure to release a lien under 26 U.S.C. § 6325, which in turn requires the IRS to release a lien only after the underlying liabilities have been "fully satisfied" or have become "legally unenforceable," § 6325(a)(1). But to bring suit under § 7432(d)(1), a taxpayer must first exhaust available administrative remedies. To properly exhaust, the taxpayer must file an administrative claim that provides, among other things, "[t]he dollar amount of the claim, including any damages that have not yet been incurred but that are reasonably foreseeable." 26 C.F.R. § 301.7432-1(f)(2)(vi). The district court observed that plaintiffs failed to comply with this requirement, noting that in one of their administrative claims, plaintiffs stated only that the amount they had paid the IRS exceeded the amount they owed by a "'substantial amount.'" Aplt. App. at 465 (quoting id. at 167). Ms. Hook offers no plausible argument that this conclusion was in error. She simply points to the administrative claim referenced in the district court’s decision and a few other administrative claims, several of which do not concern the release of liens but instead seek refunds or the return of levied or seized 14