Opinion
12346-24
08-02-2024
CRYSTAL ELBERT, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
Kathleen Kerrigan, Chief Judge
On July 29, 2024, petitioner electronically filed the Petition to commence the above-docketed case, not accompanied by payment of the filing fee. On the same date, petitioner filed an Attachment to Petition. Petitioner's filings were not properly redacted to eliminate references to taxpayer identifying information.
By Order served July 30, 2024, the Court directed petitioner to file an amended petition and to pay the Court's filing fee. Also on July 30, 2024, the Court received and filed a document from petitioner under the title "Motion to Close Case due to Lack of Redaction." Therein petitioner wrote, "I am writing this to create a motion to request case 12346-24 be redacted and closed due to petition social security number not redacted. Also missing important documentation."
We will seal petitioner's improperly redacted documents. However, to the extent petitioner may be seeking to seal this entire proceeding, we inform her that, as a general rule, the official records of all courts are to be open and available for public inspection. See Willie Nelson Music Co. v. Commissioner, 85 T.C. 914, 917 (1985).
It has further come to the Court's attention that this case is duplicative of petitioner's case at Docket No. 12348-24S. The petition in that case, which was also filed on July 29, 2024, seeks review of the same 2022 notice of deficiency disputed in the above-docketed case.
Upon due consideration and for cause, it is
ORDERED that petitioner's Motion to Close Case due to Lack of Redaction is recharacterized as a Motion to Seal. It is further
ORDERED that petitioner's Motion to Seal is granted, in that the Petition and the Attachment to Petition, filed on July 29, 2024, in the above-docketed case, shall be sealed from public view and shall not be open for inspection by any person or entity not a party to this case, except by an Order of the Court. It is further
ORDERED that, on the Court's own motion, this case is closed on the grounds of duplication. All future communications concerning the notice of deficiency issued for petitioner's 2022 tax year should be directed to Docket No. 12348-24S.