Opinion
1800-21 37946-21
04-26-2022
CANAAN ENTERPRISES INC., ET AL, Petitioners v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
Maurice B. Foley Chief Judge
On January 21, 2021, the Court received a petition with the handwritten caption "Arthur L. Dillard & Canaan Enterprises Inc." The envelope containing the petition bore a postmark of December 30, 2020. The petition included the first page of a notice of deficiency dated October 5, 2020, issued to Canaan Enterprises, Inc. for the taxable years 2016 and 2017. It also included a Form 4089-B "Notice of Deficiency-Waiver" addressed to Arthur L. Dillard for 2017. According to those documents, Mr. Dillard and Canaan Enterprises share a common address. The Court filed the petition and assigned that case Docket No. 1800-21 under the caption Canaan Enterprises, Inc. v. Commissioner, the addressee of the only notice of deficiency included with the petition.
On April 6, 2022, the Commissioner filed a status report attaching complete copies of separate notices of deficiency issued to Canaan Enterprises, Inc. for 2016 and 2017, and to Mr. Dillard for 2017. Although the Commissioner's copies of the notices of deficiency are undated, the Commissioner asserts that the petition at docket no. 1800-21 was timely as to both notices. A search of the certified mail tracking numbers shown on those notices of deficiency confirms that the petition was timely mailed as to both notices.
Generally, separate petitions are required with respect to each notice of deficiency. See Rule 34(a)(1), Tax Court Rules of Practice & Procedure. When parties are misjoined into a single case, the Court may order severance of the case, which is what we will do here. Accordingly, it is
ORDERED that claims pertaining to a redetermination of deficiencies of Arthur L. Dillard are severed from the case at Docket No. 1800-21 and are assigned Docket No. 37946-21, bearing the caption "Arthur L. Dillard, Petitioner v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Respondent." It is further
ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court is directed to file at Docket No. 37946-21 copies of the following documents originally filed in Docket No. 1800-21: the Petition, filed at index no. 1, the Answer, filed at index no. 2, and the Status Report filed at index no. 10. It is further
ORDERED that based upon petitioner's signature on the petition in Docket No. 1800-21, the petition in Docket No. 37946-21, shall be deemed to have been ratified and affirmed by petitioner. It is further
ORDERED that the Court's filing fee is waived for Docket No. 37946-21. It is further
ORDERED that the designated place of trial for proceedings at Docket No. 37946-21 shall be Detroit, Michigan. It is further
ORDERED that Docket numbers 1800-21 and 37946-21 are consolidated for purposes of trial, briefing, and opinion.