Opinion
1128-21 1129-21 1130-21
09-01-2022
CHRISTINA CAVALLARO, TRANSFEREE, ET AL Petitioners v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
Kathleen Kerrigan Chief Judge
These now-consolidated cases were filed in March 2021. On October 7, 2021, respondent filed a Motion for Summary Judgment. After respondent's motion was filed, on November 1, 2021, petitioners filed a Motion to Stay Proceedings. The motion to stay explained that petitioners sought a stay of these cases "until such time as the Internal Revenue Service Independent Office of Appeals (IRS Appeals) has either settled the cases with petitioners or assigned them back to respondent's counsel for trial preparation."
Having heard nothing from either party, the Court issued an Order on July 11, 2022, directing the filing of a status report. The joint status report filed August 8, 2022, explained that the IRS Appeals Officer "had placed the cases 'in suspense' upon learning of the filing of respondent's motion for summary judgment"-which was prior to the filing of the motion to stay- and that "[p]etitioners' position remains they would like the case stayed pending an opportunity to have an Appeals conference."
In order to clear up the procedural logjam, the Court directed the parties to respond to each other's motions on the record. On August 16, 2022, the Court received petitioners' Motion for Reconsideration of Order. That motion explains that "requiring petitioners to respond to respondent's motion for summary judgment runs counter to [their request for a stay] by allowing proceedings to continue apace." Given the fact that no action was taken by the parties to work towards resolution of these issues during the preceding ten months, it appears to the Court that directing responses to the pending motions is appropriate. Upon the filing of this Order and the assignment of the motion to stay, the parties should be prepared to participate in a conference call to discuss the pending Motion to Stay Proceedings.
Upon due consideration, it is therefore
ORDERED that petitioners' Motion for Reconsideration of Order is denied. It is further
ORDERED that, insofar as petitioners' motion requests an extension of time in which to file a response to respondent's Motion for Summary Judgement, the time within which petitioners are directed to do so is extended to November 1, 2022. It is further
ORDERED that the time within which respondent is directed to respond to petitioners' Motion to Stay Proceedings is similarly extended to November 1, 2022. It is further
ORDERED that the Motion to Stay Proceedings is hereby assigned to Special Trial Judge Peter J. Panuthos for disposition.