On July 5, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court decision from the Eastern District of Michigan regarding a "John Doe" summons the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") issued seeking financial records related to the bank accounts of two companies pursuant to the Financial Right to Privacy Act ("FRPA"). While the district court determined that the IRS had failed to adhere to its own regulations in issuing the summons as "John Doe" without first seeking district court approval, the court nonetheless found that the IRS was entitled to sovereign immunity because it issued the summons to companies rather than individuals, and the waiver of sovereign immunity under the FRPA protects only individuals.
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