UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 21-55197

Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 3:15-cv-02057- v. AJB-NLS JAMES D. PAULSON, individually; and as statutory executor of the Estate OPINION of Allen E. Paulson; VIKKI E. PAULSON, individually; and as statutory executor of the Estate of Allen E. Paulson; and as Co-Trustee of the Allen E. Paulson Living Trust; CRYSTAL CHRISTENSEN, individually; and as statutory executor of the Estate of Allen E. Paulson; and as Co-Trustee of the Allen E. Paulson Living Trust; MADELEINE PICKENS, individually; and as statutory executor of the Estate of Allen E. Paulson; and as Trustee of the Marital Trust created under the Allen E. Paulson Living Trust; and as Trustee of the Madeleine Anne Paulson Separate Property Trust,

Defendants-Appellees. 2 UNITED STATES V. PAULSON

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 21-55230

Plaintiff-Appellee, D.C. No. 3:15-cv-02057- v. AJB-NLS JOHN MICHAEL PAULSON, individually; and as Executor of the Estate of Allen E. Paulson; JAMES D. PAULSON, individually; and as statutory executor of the Estate of Allen E. Paulson, MADELEINE PICKENS, individually; and as statutory executor of the Estate of Allen E. Paulson; and as Trustee of the Marital Trust created under the Allen E. Paulson Living Trust; and as Trustee of the Madeleine Anne Paulson Separate Property Trust,

Defendants, and VIKKI E. PAULSON, individually; and as statutory executor of the Estate of Allen E. Paulson; and as Co-Trustee of the Allen E. Paulson Living Trust; CRYSTAL CHRISTENSEN, individually; and as statutory executor of the Estate of Allen E. Paulson; and as Co-Trustee of the Allen E. Paulson UNITED STATES V. PAULSON 3

Living Trust,

Defendants-Appellants.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of California Anthony J. Battaglia, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted February 11, 2022 San Francisco, California

Filed May 17, 2023

Before: Kim McLane Wardlaw, Sandra S. Ikuta, and Bridget S. Bade, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Bade; Dissent by Judge Ikuta

SUMMARY *

Tax

The panel reversed the district court’s judgment in favor of defendants, and remanded with instructions to enter judgment in favor of the government on its claims for estate taxes, and to conduct any further proceedings necessary to

* This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader. 4 UNITED STATES V. PAULSON

determine the amount of each defendant’s liability for unpaid taxes. The United States sued several heirs of Allen Paulson, alleging that they were trustees of Paulson’s trust or received estate property as transferees or beneficiaries, and were thus personally liable for estate taxes under 26 U.S.C. § 6324(a)(2). The United States also alleged that two of the heirs, Vikki Paulson and Crystal Christensen, were liable for estate taxes under California state law. The district court ruled in favor of defendants on the Tax Code claims, and in favor of the United States on the state law claims. Allen Paulson died with an estate valued at nearly $200 million, most of which was placed in a living trust. The estate was distributed among Paulson’s heirs over the years. When the estate filed its tax return, it also paid a portion of its tax liability, and elected to pay the remaining balance in inst