Opinion
13438-20
11-29-2021
Frank Boateng & Rebecca Boateng Petitioners v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Respondent
ORDER
David Gustafson, Judge
The petition in this case was filed in November 2020, and the case was scheduled for trial at the Washington, D.C., trial session that begins December 13, 2021. It appeared that a basis for settlement was reached (see Doc. 9); but the Commissioner most recently reports (see Doc. 10) that in fact a settlement was not reached and that petitioners "wish to proceed to trial on all issues in this case". It is petitioners' right to do so, and they should be aware that at that trial--set for the session beginning December 13, 2021--petitioners will generally bear the burden of proof. See Rule 142(a)(1). Typically that requires that (among other things) they have documentation to substantiate the deductions that they claim.
The Commissioner "requests that a pretrial conference call be scheduled with the Court to offer guidance to petitioners and to set dates for filing of pretrial memos and stipulation of facts". (Doc. 10.) We will attempt to conduct such a call with the parties, but we observe that the dates for the filing of a stipulation and pretrial memoranda are already set: Under our standing pretrial order ("SPTO") issued July 15, 2021 (Doc. 8), pretrial memoranda were due November 22, 2021 (and are now overdue), and the parties' stipulation and their unagreed exhibits are due to be filed today (November 29, 2021). No party has filed a motion for a continuance of the trial and such a motion would at this late date be presumptively dilatory (see Rule 133). A party may not grant itself a continuance by deciding not to settle the case. It is
ORDERED that our standing pretrial order of July 15, 2021, remains in full force and effect. It is further
ORDERED that immediately upon receipt of this order, each party shall telephone the judge's Chambers Administrator (at 202-521-0850), unless she has already reached the party by telephone, for the purpose of scheduling a pretrial telephone conference.