Opinion
13967-22
05-22-2023
MARC FORSCHINO, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
DAVID GUSTAFSON, JUDGE
This case was calendared for a pretrial hearing that took place on Thursday, May 11, 2023, so that we could discuss with the parties several pending motions--i.e., petitioner's motion to take deposition (Doc. 16) and respondent's motions to compel (Docs. 33, 35)--and the schedule of the case generally. We previously stated (see Doc. 27) that trial of this case was likely to be scheduled to take place between July 17 and August 18, 2023, but in view of the unresolved discovery controversies, we advised the parties that trial may not be held until later this year.
We discussed with the parties at some length the progress that they have made in document production and the tasks yet to be performed. One especially important and labor-intensive undertaking is the Commissioner's analysis of certain records that petitioner has produced. The Commissioner expects to finish this task by August 15, 2023, and to share the results with petitioner, which petitioner believes will enable him to better respond to the Commissioner's interrogatory No. 1 (the subject of one of the motions to compel (Doc. 35, 38)). We will therefore order petitioner to file--after the sharing of that analysis--a supplement to his objection (Doc. 40) to the Commissioner's motion, and we will order the Commissioner to file a reply.
Another important undertaking is petitioner's production of documents (the subject of the other motion to compel, Docs. 33, 34), including the Commissioner's request for emails (as to which he needed more particularity as to the Commissioner's request) and his request for certain agreements and weekly reports (or for petitioner's statement that those documents do not exist). We directed the parties to confer after our pretrial hearing and directed the Commissioner to file a status report informing us of the date by which petitioner has undertaken to complete his voluntary production of documents. The Commissioner filed that status report (Doc. 50), and we can now set deadlines for further filings.
It is possible (and we think in fact that it is likely) that the parties will be able to eliminate in part or entirely their disagreements about these discovery issues, and we therefore hope that the filings we direct here will either narrow the disputes or announce that the motions to compel are moot. After these filings have been made, the parties are invited to telephone the chambers of the judge signing this order to schedule a telephone conference for the purpose of setting a trial date.
To give effect to the foregoing, it is
ORDERED, as to petitioner's motion to depose (Doc. 16), that our order of March 10, 2023 (Doc. 27), which provides that consideration of the motion is stayed, shall remain in effect until further action by the parties or the Court. It is further
ORDERED, as to the motion to compel responses to interrogatories (Doc. 35, 38), that: (1) no later than August 15, 2023, the Commissioner shall complete his analysis described above and share it with petitioner, (2) no later than September 1, 2023, petitioner shall file a supplement to his objection (Doc. 40) to the Commissioner's motion, and (3) no later than September 15, 2023, the Commissioner to file a reply. It is further
ORDERED, as to the motion to compel production of documents (Doc. 33, 34), that: (1) no later than June 15, 2023, petitioner shall complete his voluntary production of documents to the Commissioner, (2) no later than June 30, 2023, the Commissioner shall file a reply to petitioner's response (Doc. 45) to the Commissioner's motion.