Opinion
21211-19L
10-06-2023
MEADOWFIELD LIMITED, AS SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO ETA HOLDING LLC, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
Lewis R. Carluzzo Chief Special Trial Judge
This I.R.C. section 6330(d) case, previously set for trial and continued several times but not presently set for trial, is before the Court on (1) respondent's Motion to Remand, filed June 1, 2022, and (2) petitioner's Motion to Compel Discovery, filed June 6, 2022. Each party has objected to the motion of the other. Various submissions filed in connection with the motions, and numerous status reports that allude to the motions strongly suggest that both motions should be set for hearing.
Rule 50(b)(2) of the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure, provides in part, that hearings "may be held in Washington, D.C.", or upon directive of the Court, "at some other location which serves the convenience of the parties and the Court." Place of trial in this case is in Houston, Texas, and scheduling the hearings during the undersigned's Houston, Texas, trial session that starts on December 18, 2023, would seem to serve the convenience of the parties with respect to the place of the hearings, but not so much with respect to the timing of the hearings. The parties have noted in their joint status report, filed June 7, 2023, that settlement discussions have been started, but they "would like the Court to rule on the motions so that progress can be made in the case."
Waiting until December to conduct the hearings would seem to frustrate the parties' efforts and intentions to make progress in the case and/or continue settlement discussions. All things considered and under the circumstances, the undersigned's Dallas, Texas, trial session that starts on October 30, 2023, seems to be an "other location" for the hearings that would serve the interests of the parties, particularly with respect to timing, even if not so convenient with respect to location. With respect to location of the hearings, although Dallas, Texas, is not as convenient as Houston, Texas, it surely is not so inconvenient as Washington, D.C. That being so, it is
ORDERED that both motions are set for hearing during the Dallas, Texas, trial session scheduled to begin on October 30, 2023, in courtroom 726, 7th Floor, Earl Cabell Federal Building & U.S. Courthouse, 1100 Commerce Street, Dallas, TX 75242, at a time and date certain of 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 1, 2023.
The parties are invited to contact the Court if (1) they agree upon a more convenient time and date for the hearings during the above-referenced Dallas, Texas, trial session, or (2) they prefer to wait and reschedule the hearings to be set during the December 18, 2023, Houston, Texas, trial session.