Howard Ross Butler; Elaine Butler, Plaintiffs-appellants, v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Service; Internal Revenueservice; R.d. Risdon, Defendants-appellees, 28 F.3d 105 (9th Cir. 1994)

MEMORANDUM^** 

Howard and Elaine Butler appeal pro se the district court's dismissal for failure to state a claim of their quiet title action against the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"). The Butlers alleged that the IRS officer who filed a lien on their property lacked delegated authority to do so. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.

We review de novo the district court's dismissal for failure to state a claim, accepting the factual allegations in the complaint as true and construing them in the light most favorable to the appellant. Schowengerdt v. General Dynamics Corp., 823 F.2d 1328, 1332 (9th Cir. 1987), cert. denied, 112 S. Ct. 1514 (1992).

The Butlers's delegation of authority contention lacks merit. The delegation of authority down the chain of command, from the Secretary to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, to local IRS employees constitutes a valid delegation by the Secretary to the Commissioner, and a redelegation by the Commissioner to the delegated officers and employees. Hughes v. United States, 953 F.2d 531, 536 (9th Cir. 1992). Accordingly, the district court properly dismissed the Butlers' complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. See Schowengerdt, 823 F.2d at 1332.

AFFIRMED.