§3805 Judicial review

Summary

An agency decision that says a person is liable is final unless that person asks a court to review it. To get a court review, the person must first finish all agency appeals and then file a written petition in a U.S. district court within 60 days after the agency head sends the final decision. The petition can be filed where the person lives or does business, where the claim was made, or in the District of Columbia. When the petition is filed, the court sends copies to the agency and to the Attorney General, and the agency sends its case record to the Attorney General. The district court can agree with the agency, change the decision, send the case back for more review, or cancel it, and can enforce any judgment it upholds or changes. The agency’s findings of fact are final unless the court finds they are not supported by enough evidence after reviewing the whole record and checking whether any mistakes were harmful. The court will not consider issues not raised at the agency hearing unless there were extraordinary reasons for not raising them. If a party shows new important evidence and a good reason it was not presented earlier, the court must send the case back for the agency to consider it. If the court finally finds the person liable, it must enter a final judgment for the proper amount in favor of the United States.