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The Federal Claims Court handles both federal tax and intellectual property matters. Its purpose is to hear monetary disputes against the United States government.




























Federal Claims Court

federal claims courtFederal Claims Court: the rarest for civil tax litigation

The Federal Claims Court (also referred to as the U.S. Court of Claims and the Court of Federal Claims) handles both federal tax and intellectual property matters. Its purpose is to hear monetary disputes against the United States government. As with U.S. District Court, taxpayers must first pay the IRS’s demanded tax and file a claim for a refund before filing a lawsuit. The Federal Claims Court usually only handles large tax claims for national and multi-national organizations. By contrast, the majority of federal civil tax litigation is handled by the U.S. Tax Court.

Federal Claims Court: its historical foundations

In 1855, Congress enacted a law creating the Court of Claims. Its purpose was to protect the stability of the federal government’s treasury from too many claims. To do so, the Court of Claims would hear claims against the government and make recommendations to Congress. Then, in 1863, on President Abraham Lincoln’s suggestion, Congress changed the law to allow the Court of Claims to make final decisions that, when permitted, could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The law was changed because Congress had gotten bogged down in reviewing these recommendations.

In 1982, the Court of Claims was effectively renamed as the U.S. Claims Court. Eventually, its official name was changed to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Amongst the other modern changes to the Federal Claims Court, appeals now occur at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Appeals of decisions by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit are determined by the U.S. Supreme Court.

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