Opinion
16466-22W
07-27-2022
JOHN D. SMITH, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
Kathleen Kerrigan Chief Judge
On May 25, 2022, petitioner filed in paper form a petition and exhibits to petition to commence this whistleblower case pursuant to Internal Revenue Code section 7623.
The parties are reminded that, under Rule 345(b), Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure, when filing documents in a whistleblower action, the party making the filing "shall refrain from including, or shall take appropriate steps to redact, the name, address, and other identifying information of the taxpayer to whom the claim relates." Rule 345(b) further provides that the party "filing a document that contains redacted information shall file under seal a reference list that identifies each item of redacted information and specifies an appropriate identifier that uniquely corresponds to each item listed."
Petitioner did not refrain from including in the petition and exhibits to petition identifying information with respect to the taxpayer to whom petitioner's claim in this case relates (target taxpayer) or fully redact the petition and its attachments as to references to the target taxpayer and provide a reference list of redacted information. Accordingly, the Court will seal the petition and exhibits to petition.
In addition, while the petition indicates that Christopher J. DeCosta is petitioner's counsel, the petition does not bear Mr. DeCosta's original signature. At this juncture, therefore, Mr. DeCosta cannot be recognized as petitioner's counsel in this case. If Mr. DeCosta wishes to represent petitioner in this case, Mr. DeCosta will be required to electronically file an entry of appearance.
Upon due consideration, it is
ORDERED that the petition and exhibits to petition, filed May 25, 2022, are sealed from public view and shall be retained by the Court in a sealed file which shall not be inspected by any person or entity, except by an Order of the Court. It is further
ORDERED that in the future, pursuant to Rule 345(b), when filing or lodging documents in this case that are not sealed the parties shall take appropriate steps to redact the name, address, and other identifying information of the target taxpayer and, when appropriate, either (1) concurrently file or lodge under seal a reference list that identifies each item of redacted information and specifies an appropriate identifier that uniquely corresponds to each item listed or (2) concurrently file or lodge under seal an unredacted version of any redacted document that is filed or lodged. Documents to be filed under seal must be submitted to the Court in paper form.
If utilizing the first method, the parties shall file or lodge redacted versions of documents accompanied by a reference list of redacted information, which must be filed or lodged under seal and specifically identify and state each item of redacted information (for example, when the target taxpayer's name is redacted, the reference list must identify that redaction and also state the target taxpayer's name). Subsequent references in the case to a listed identifier will be construed to refer to the corresponding item of information.
If utilizing the second method, the versions shall be clearly marked as "Unredacted" or "Redacted", as appropriate, and the redacted version shall be an exact duplicate of the corresponding unredacted version, including attachments and exhibits, except for the redactions made with respect to the identifying information of the target taxpayer.