Opinion
12897-20
10-07-2022
ANDREW THOMAS, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
David Gustafson Judge
This case will be called for trial in St. Louis, Missouri, at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, October 24, 2022. On Friday, September 30, 2022, the Commissioner filed his pretrial memorandum, which alleges that petitioner Andrew Thomas has not provided sufficient documentation to support his claims. The Court has not yet heard from Mr. Thomas and does not prejudge the case based on the IRS's allegations. To learn more about the status of the case, the Court attempted to conduct a telephone pretrial conference with the parties, but so far petitioner has not returned our telephone calls. The Court therefore offers to petitioner these general reminders that the Court would have given in the phone conference:
• You must appear on October 24, 2022. If you fail to appear, then your case may be dismissed for "failure to prosecute". Such a dismissal would have the effect of upholding the IRS's determination against you.
• Barring extraordinary circumstances, you have the burden of proof in this case. If you do not meet that burden on any given point, then the IRS's position on that point will be upheld.
• Financial matters are almost always proved by documentation. Only in unusual circumstances can a taxpayer prove a monetary item by testimony alone, and testimony without corroborating documentation is usually insufficient.
• You must share your documents with your opponent (the IRS) as soon as possible, in advance of the trial. They were due to be shared by October 3, 2022, and are now overdue. Those documents may persuade the IRS of the correctness of your position, and may result in a full or partial settlement of the case. Even if not, your sharing of those documents can still be to your advantage, since your documents can then be included in the "Stipulation of Facts" (discussed below) that the parties will jointly file. This will be a great convenience to you at trial.
•The Standing Pretrial Order issued to you on June 24, 2022, directed you to file with the Court and serve on the IRS a pretrial memorandum that, among other things, names any witnesses whom you intend to call (other than yourself) to give testimony in support of your case. This was due Monday, October 3, 2022. You should also consider giving your opponent contact information (address and phone number) for your witnesses, so that your opponent can talk with your witnesses (if the witnesses are willing).
•If your documents and witnesses are persuasive to the IRS, then the IRS may accept your position in whole or in part, and then you would not need to prove at trial the points on which you had persuaded the IRS. (Of course, the trial will be devoted to the remaining matters that are still in dispute.) The parties' agreements about facts relevant to the case are to be written out in a "Stipulation of Facts" that is signed by both parties. You have the duty of cooperating with your opponent to prepare that Stipulation.
To help assure an orderly and efficient trial, it is
ORDERED that the parties shall note the reminders and follow the instructions given above. It is further
ORDERED that, immediately upon receiving this order, and in any event no later than October 13, 2022, petitioner Andrew Thomas shall telephone the Chambers Administrator of the judge signing this order (at 202-521-0850) for the purpose of scheduling a pretrial telephone conference.