Opinion
11744-22
08-09-2024
JAGO STEVEN GODDARD, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
RONALD L. BUCH JUDGE.
On April 26, 2024, the Commissioner filed a Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Prosecution. After conferring with the parties, the Court took no action on that Motion to allow the parties an opportunity to resolve this case or prepare it for trial. The Court ordered the parties to submit a joint status report to the Court by early August. On July 29, 2024, the Commissioner filed a status report informing the Court that Mr. Goddard's representative (who is not counsel of record) has been unresponsive to attempts at communication. On July 30, 2024, the Court ordered the Mr. Goddard to file his own status report by August 16, 2024. Subsequently, Mr. Goddard contacted the Court and left a message to the effect that his attempts to contact Commissioner's counsel had failed.
The Court arranged and held a conference call to facilitate communication between the parties. In short, the Commissioner was attempting to communicate with Mr. Goddard's representative, who has a Form 2848 on file with the Commissioner. Mr. Goddard's representative, however, has (apparently) been unwilling to provide information, particularly, tax returns for processing, to the Commissioner. Ultimately, this failure falls on Mr. Goddard. Rather than take immediate action on the pending Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Prosecution, the Court offered Mr. Goddard another opportunity to demonstrate that his is actively pursuing his case. We will order him to appear (remotely) to inform the Court of what steps, if any, he has taken in furtherance of his case. To that end, it is
ORDERED that the Court's Order served July 30, 2024, is vacated. It is further
ORDERED that the Commissioner's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Prosecution filed April 26, 2024, is scheduled for hearing at the Court's September 11, 2024, Washington, D.C., special hearing session to be conducted remotely at a date and time certain of 1:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Wednesday, September 11, 2024. It is further
ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall serve on the parties a Notice of Remote Proceeding that shall contain comprehensive instructions on how to participate in the above-referenced remote proceeding. It is further
ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall attach to this order a copy of the clinic letter for Los Angeles, California.
The undersigned Judge will preside at the above-referenced hearing.