2025-10-23
Yesterday the Court of Federal Claims published Pellegrino v. U.S. The taxpayer in the case was a so-called "sovereign citizen." He stated:
[H]e is "not a United States Citizen or a 14th Amendment citizen" and states that he is a "Sovereign of the republic." * * * He states that, because he is not an American citizen, he should be immune from taxation.
The taxpayer was seeking tax refunds for the "Mark Pellegrino Estate". The court dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted. However, the court also concluded that the taxpayer could not represent the alleged estate as a non-attorney.
RCFC 83.1(a)(4) states that "persons who are not attorneys … may not represent a corporation, an entity, or any other person in any proceeding before this court." Mr. Pellegrino concedes that his complaint is on behalf of an entity—an estate—not himself. * * * An estate is a separate legal entity from an individual and cannot be represented by a non-attorney. * * * Ordinarily the court would allow a plaintiff time to find an attorney in this sort of situation, but because Mr. Pellegrino's complaint fails to state a claim, finding an attorney would not revive his complaint on the merits.