Opinion
7129-20
01-13-2022
John M. Gamber Petitioner v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Respondent
ORDER
Mark V. Holmes Judge
This case was on the Court's March 15, 2021 trial calendar for St. Paul, Minnesota. We continued it because Mr. Gamber promised to exchange information with the IRS to substantiate his deductions. Respondent had reported that Mr. Gamber hadn't finished that production, but in a phone call with the parties last September, we learned that he had recently said he'd finished getting all the documents to the IRS. The Commissioner expected the remaining work on the case to be computational, but recently reported that Mr. Gamber was again sending records. Some of these seem to substantiate previously unsubstantiated expenses; some do not, and at least according to the IRS many of Mr. Gamber's claimed expenses remain unsubstantiated. The IRS also reported that Mr. Gamber only sometimes responds to efforts to communicate with him.
We recognize that Mr. Gamber is a trucker whose job will necessarily put him on the road for long periods of time. But after more than a year of efforts to get the parties to settle through production of records, it is reasonable to bring this case to a close. The Court will be conducting its next session in St. Paul remotely and will make every effort to accommodate Mr. Gamber's schedule should a trial prove necessary. But it is also
ORDERED that on or before February 14, 2022 Mr. Gamber will deliver (and note that this is deliver, not send) to respondent's counsel assigned to this case all records that he has not already produced that he believes substantiates his claimed deductions for the tax years at issue. Any records that he does not deliver to the IRS will not be allowed into evidence in any trial of this case. It is also
ORDERED that this case is calendared for trial at the session of the Court to be conducted remotely, commencing at 10:00 am on Monday, March 21, 2022., for cases in which St. Paul, Minnesota, is listed as the place of trial. It is also
ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall also serve on the parties: (1) a Notice of Remote Proceeding that shall contain comprehensive instructions on how to participate in the above-referenced remote proceeding, and (2) a copy of the Standing Pretrial Order for the Court's March 21, 2022, St. Paul Minnesota, trial session.