Opinion
20712-21
08-29-2024
DAVID ALVAREZ & ROBERTA ALANIS ALVAREZ, Petitioners v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
David Gustafson Judge
This case concerns petitioners' tax liability for the year 2017. It was filed more than three years ago in June 2021. It was set for trial in October 2022 (see Doc. 5) but was continued at respondent's request (see Docs. 9-10). It was next set for trial in December 2023 (see Doc. 11) but was again continued at respondent's request (see Docs. 13-14). It was next set for trial at the Tax Court's upcoming San Antonio trial session beginning September 30, 2024 (see Doc. 15), but petitioners have now filed an unopposed motion for a third continuance, which describes their efforts to settle the case and states: "the parties assure the Court that fluid and quality results are close at hand." (Doc. 17, para. 8.)
This case is related to Precise Cleaning Co., LLC v. Commissioner, No. 2096-21. The Precise Cleaning case has an equivalent history-- filed in January 2021 and continued from the trial sessions in October 2022 and December 2023. It was likewise set for trial at the session beginning September 30, 2024, but was recently continued by our granting of a motion that "assure[d] ... that fluid and quality results are close at hand".
We take at face value counsel's assurance that settlement is "close at hand"-- an assurance that was not given in the two previous motions for continuance. Because of that assurance, we will grant the motion; and because of that assurance, we do not expect that the parties will request (nor should the parties expect that the Court would grant) any further continuance of this case. It is
ORDERED that the motion (Doc. 17) is granted, that this case is stricken from the calendar of the Court's upcoming session, and that this case is restored to the General Docket, to be placed in due course on a future trial calendar. It is further
ORDERED that if parties (or either of them) files in the future a motion for any further continuance of this case, then they shall quote in that motion the third paragraph of this order and shall attach a copy of this order to that motion.