Opinion
15018-16 25413-16 26117-16
08-25-2021
Frank L. Chapin & Sydney L. Gutierrez-Chapin, et al., Petitioners v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Respondent
ORDER
Juan F. Vasquez Judge
On November 17, 2020, respondent filed a motion for order to show cause pursuant to Rule 91(f). Respondent attached to his motion a proposed second supplemental stipulation of facts comprising proposed paragraphs 251 through 305 and proposed exhibits 500-R through 523-R. Respondent seeks to compel the stipulation of proposed paragraphs 252 to 269, 274 to 276, 278 to 296, and 298 to 305. Respondent also seeks to compel the stipulation of proposed exhibits 500-R to 515-R and 520-R to 522-R.
All Rule references are to the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure.
On November 18, 2020, the Court issued an Order to Show Cause Under Rule 91(f) directing petitioners to file, on or before December 28, 2020, a response showing why the matters set forth in respondent's motion papers should not be deemed admitted for purposes of these cases. Petitioners filed a response on December 10, 2020.
In their response petitioners argue, among other things, that respondent's motion was untimely. We share petitioners' timeliness concerns, given that these cases were already called from a trial calendar and partially tried. See Rule 91(f)(1) (providing that a party may file a motion to compel stipulation "45 days prior to the date set for call of the case from a trial calendar"). Accordingly, we will discharge our Order to Show Cause.
That said, we note that petitioners did not specifically object to respondent's proposed exhibits 278 to 296 and 298 to 305. Those proposed paragraphs purport to make corrections to clerical errors in stipulations of facts that the parties have already filed. We strongly encourage petitioners to stipulate to those paragraphs if they have no objection to their contents. Otherwise, the Court expects petitioners to work in good faith with respondent to correct clerical errors in the previously-filed stipulations.
We express no opinion about the admissibility of respondent's proposed stipulated exhibits should respondent wish to move them into evidence at trial.
The foregoing considered, it is
ORDERED that the Court's Order to Show Cause filed on November 18, 2020, is hereby discharged. It is further
ORDERED that, on or before September 1, 2021, the parties shall file status reports addressing their availability for further trial (to be conducted remotely) in October 2021, December 2021, or January 2022.