Opinion
12931-20L
10-26-2022
TAMEKA LAVERN BROWN & JAMAL TRAVIN BROWN, Petitioners v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER OF DISMISSAL AND DECISION
David Gustafson Judge
Now pending before the Court is our order (Doc. 16) to show cause, served on September 9, 2022. We will make absolute that order.
Background
By notice (Doc. 5) served July 15, 2021, this case was scheduled to be tried at the Court's session beginning December 13, 2021, in Washington, DC. The Commissioner filed a motion (Doc. 7) to remand on August 31, 2021, in which he asks the Court to remand the case to the IRS's Office of Appeals for further consideration. The Court granted the motion and the case was stricken from the December 13, 2021, Washington, DC, trial session. On September 8, 2021, the Court ordered the Commissioner to offer petitioners Tameka Lavern Brown and Jamal Travin Brown a supplemental hearing before November 8, 2021, and for petitioners to promptly and diligently use the supplemental hearing to present their case to Appeals (see Doc. 9). By order of December 14, 2021 (Doc. 11), we required status reports, and by our order of January 28, 2022 (Doc. 13), we stressed that "Petitioners must comply with that order". The Commissioner filed status reports (Doc. 10, 14) on December 8, 2021, and February 8, 2022, stating that petitioners had not responded to the IRS's multiple attempts to communicate with them about this case; and petitioners made no filings in compliance with our orders.
By our "Order to Show Cause" dated September 9, 2022 (Doc. 16), the Court directed petitioners to show cause in writing why the petition in this case should not be dismissed pursuant to Rule 123, for their failure to properly prosecute and for their noncompliance with the Court's orders (Docs. 9, 11, & 13). Petitioners filed no response.
Decision
Rule 123(b) of the Rules of Practice and Procedure of the United States Tax Court, provides as follows:
(b) Dismissal: For failure of a petitioner properly to prosecute or to comply with these Rules or any order of the Court or for other cause which the Court deems sufficient, the Court may dismiss a case at any time and enter a decision against the petitioner.
Petitioners have failed to comply with multiple orders - most notably, our recent Order to Show Cause. We must bring this case to a conclusion, one way or another; and in the absence of any participation by petitioners, our means for doing so is to dismiss the case.
In view of the foregoing, it is
ORDERED that the Court's Order to Show Cause dated September 9, 2022, is hereby made absolute, and this case is dismissed pursuant to Rule 123(b) for petitioner's failure to prosecute this case. It is further
ORDERED AND DECIDED that the determination of respondent's Office of Appeals as set forth in the Supplemental Notice of Determination Concerning Collection Action(s) Under Section 6320 and/or 6330, dated December 8, 2021, is hereby sustained.