Opinion
31167-21
05-08-2024
CARLA Y. EADDY, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
ELIZABETH A. COPELAND JUDGE.
The Petition in this case was filed on September 13, 2021. On January 10, 2022, Respondent filed with the Court an Answer. This case was assigned to this Division of the Court on June 16, 2023, to address Respondent's February 3, 2022, Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction. On February 22, 2024, the Court issued an Order denying that motion citing Culp v. Commissioner, 75 F.4th 196, 205 (3d Cir. 2023). The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held in Culp that the filing deadline in I.R.C. section 6213(a) is not jurisdictional, which is a significant departure from long-standing jurisprudence on our jurisdiction. See Id. We generally follow the precedent of the circuit court to which a case is appealable absent a stipulation to the contrary. Golsen v. Commissioner, 54 T.C. 742, 757 (1970), aff'd, 445 F.2d 985 (10th Cir. 1971). Here this case is appealable to the Third Circuit
Because his Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction was denied based on the Culp decision, on April 10, 2024, Respondent filed with the Court a Motion for Leave to File an Amendment to Answer, and concurrently therewith lodged Respondent's First Amendment to Answer. The First Amendment to the Answer is requested for Respondent to make affirmative allegations regarding the untimeliness of the petition that could be ruled on at trial.
Tax Court Rule 41(a) states that leave to amend a pleading shall be given freely when justice so requires. Ax v. Commissioner, 146 T.C. 153, 166 (2016). Because the Third Circuit only recently ruled on the key jurisdictional question in this case, justice would ordinarily require that we allow the amendment.
However, we note that after the issuance of our February 22, 2024, Order, on March 19, 2024, the Solicitor General, on behalf of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, filed with the Supreme Court a petition for a writ of certiorari to review the judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Culp. Petition for a Writ of Certiorari, Culp v. Commissioner, 75 F.4th 196 (3d Cir. 2023), petition for cert. filed, No. 23-1037, 2024 WL 1219442 (U.S. Mar. 19, 2024). A decision as to whether the Supreme Court will grant certiorari is pending. Depending on the decision of the Supreme Court in Culp, we may or may not vacate our prior order dated February 22, 2024, denying Respondent's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction, and Respondent's First Amendment to Answer filed April 10, 2024, may or may not be deemed moot.
Upon due consideration, and for cause, it is
ORDERED that Respondent's Motion for Leave to File an Amendment to Answer, filed with the Court on April 10, 2024, is held in abeyance. It is further
ORDERED that within 30 days after the granting or denial of certiorari by the Supreme Court in Culp, the parties shall file a status report or other appropriate motion with the Court.