The Tax Rise Lawsuit moved back into focus after new attention on the company’s past court filings. The case drew interest because consumers questioned how the firm promoted its tax-relief services and how those promises held up once clients entered formal agreements. The early record shows a dispute that grew through federal filings, customer complaints, and parallel legal activity.
Tax Rise operates as a national tax-relief and resolution service. The company markets offers in arbitration-leaning contracts and touts negotiated reductions and levy releases. Public business pages and customer complaint platforms show dozens of consumer grievances tied to outcomes, fees, and communications.
How the Lawsuit Started
Micah Watkins leads the proposed class action targeting Tax Rise, Inc. over alleged missteps in the company’s tax-relief representations. Court records confirm the lawsuit entered the federal system on January 7, 2020. The complaint pushed for class certification and grounded its claims in contract obligations, consumer protection rules, and several companion theories. Court entries indicate the judge gave Tax Rise additional time to reply to the complaint, and the company submitted its answer around mid-February 2020.
Background of the Case
Tax Rise grew rapidly in online marketing channels during the late 2010s. The company marketed its services as those of a team skilled in dealing with the IRS and state tax authorities. Consumer reviews and Better Business Bureau records point to repeated complaints that surfaced over time. Some complaints challenge fee structures. Others allege poor results or promises that were not met. Those consumer signals appear in public complaint portals and on social platforms.
Key Allegations
The Watkins complaint alleges that Tax Rise misrepresented what it could secure for clients. The complaint also alleges that contractual terms and consent processes limited consumer remedies. Plaintiff lawyers framed the claims around breach and deceptive practices. The defendant’s answer acknowledged receipt of the complaint and asserted defenses. The record available on dockets does not show the full course of discovery or a final judgment on the class claims.
TIMELINE OF THE TAX RISE CASE
Early Complaints and Consumer Signals
Tax Rise attracted consumer complaints online before and after the Watkins filing. Customers posted service grievances on the Better Business Bureau and on review sites. Public complaint archives show recurring themes: unmet expectations, refund disputes, and loan-referral concerns. Those consumer signals drew attention from small legal blogs and aggregator sites that track patterns of complaints.
Company Response
Tax Rise publicly continues to present itself as a tax-relief provider that negotiates with the IRS and state agencies. Company materials advertise offers in compromise, lien releases, and payment plans. The corporate website includes case studies and client testimonials. The company filed formal answers in the Watkins docket, asserting defenses and challenging the legal basis for class certification.
Court Filing and Legal Step
01/07/2020 marks the Watkins complaint filing in the Central District of California under case number 8:20-cv-00029. The court issued an order extending the defendant’s time to respond and Tax Rise filed an answer on February 14, 2020. Other public dockets reveal parallel litigation, including a TCPA action brought by Travis McClinton in the Western District of Texas on March 25, 2022. Those filings indicate the issues unfolded across several legal tracks and never merged into one consolidated action.
Judge Notes or Judicial Signals
Judge James V. Selna handled early docket activity in the Watkins matter and issued routine scheduling and procedural orders in early 2020. The docket entries available publicly capture administrative steps such as extensions and the defendant’s answer. The publicly accessible record contains no dispositive order that resolves the underlying class claims as of the most recent docket snapshots.
Government or Regulatory Actions
No federal regulator entry ties Tax Rise to a formal enforcement action in the sources reviewed. Consumer complaints appear in regulatory-adjacent channels and in bankruptcy adversary or related consumer filings, but major federal agencies (FTC, CFPB, SEC, IRS enforcement notices) do not show an active public enforcement docket against Tax Rise in the records surfaced. Public government-agency enforcement would typically appear on agency portals or in news reporting and was not found in the searches reviewed.
Settlement Timeline (If Verified)
No verified settlement information linking Tax Rise to a resolved federal class settlement appears in primary court dockets or major legal-news outlets. Some consumer-facing writeups reference resolved matters generically, but those pieces do not cite court judgments or settlement notices tied to a docket number or filed settlement agreement. Docket records for Watkins and related consumer cases do not show a publicly posted final settlement in the federal record segments reviewed.
Current Status
The most verifiable status across public court indexes is that Watkins v. Tax Rise has active docket entries from 2020 and that the defendant answered the complaint. Other consumer suits, including the 2022 TCPA action in Texas and bankruptcy-adjacent adversary matters, show litigation activity across venues. No authoritative source shows a final nationwide class adjudication or a court-approved class settlement at this time. Readers should treat reporting that asserts a sweeping, settled “Tax Rise lawsuit” as incomplete unless it cites a specific docket or posted settlement document.
Additional Case Details
Dawson-style bankruptcy or adversary matters mention Tax Rise in distinct contexts like creditor disputes and bankruptcy recovery claims. Those filings are separate from consumer class claims and reflect varied legal exposures that can arise when tax-relief vendors interact with third-party financing, refunds, or garnishments. Public complaint sites and niche law blogs have aggregated consumer complaints into summative posts, but those posts often lack docket citations or primary-source documents.
Final Summary
Tax Rise faces multiple, venue-specific legal actions. The Watkins federal class action is the clearest public filing and carries the most complete docket trail. The company denies liability in its filings and continues marketing services. Major regulators have not posted public enforcement actions against the company in the sources reviewed. Readers who want to rely on litigation status should consult the specific court dockets cited below before concluding.
FAQ (Short factual answers)
What court handles Watkins v. Tax Rise?
The Central District of California handles the Watkins docket, case filed 01/07/2020.
Is there a class settlement?
No verified court-filed settlement or final judgment tied to the Watkins docket was found in the public record segments reviewed.
Are there other lawsuits?
Yes. The record includes a TCPA lawsuit lodged in the Western District of Texas in March 2022 and several bankruptcy linked filings that mention the company.
