Opinion
19613-21S
10-14-2022
DONACIANO GUERRA & JULIETA GUERRA, Petitioners v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
Elizabeth Crewson Paris, Judge.
This case is calendared for trial at the Court's October 31, 2022, Houston, Texas, trial session.
On September 20, 2022, docket entry 10, respondent filed a Motion to Remove Small Tax Case Designation requesting, pursuant to Rules 50 and 171(c), that the Court enter an Order removing the small case designation from this case and that these proceedings be conducted under the Court's regular case procedures.
By Order dated September 23, 2022, docket entry 11, the Court directed petitioners, on or before October 5, 2022, to file a response to respondent's Motion to Remove Small Tax Case Designation, filed September 20, 2022, at docket entry 10. To date, petitioners have not filed a response.
On October 6, 2022, docket entry 12, respondent filed a Motion for Continuance which requests, pursuant to the provisions of Tax Court Rule 133, that the Court remove this case from the trial session of the Court scheduled to commence at Houston, Texas, on October 31, 2022, and restore the case to the general trial docket. Respondent's Motion further indicates that petitioners would like to pursue settlement of this matter with the IRS Independent Office of Appeals without the need for trial. The case has since been assigned to an Appeals Officer, and the Appeals Officer anticipates more time will be needed to review all relevant documents. The parties believe that, with additional time, there is a reasonable possibility of settling this case without a trial. Respondent's attempts to contact petitioners as to the filing of this motion have been unsuccessful. As such, petitioners' views with respect to the filing of this motion are unknown.
The Court will grant both respondent's Motion to Remove Small Tax Case Designation, filed September 20, 2022, docket entry 10, and respondent's Motion for Continuance, filed October 6, 2022, docket entry 12.
After due consideration, and for cause, it is
ORDERED that respondent's Motion to Remove Small Tax Case Designation, filed September 20, 2022, at docket entry 10, is granted in that the docket number of this case is amended by deleting the letter "S" therefrom, and the Clerk of the Court is hereafter directed to process this case to trial or other disposition as a regular tax case. It is further
ORDERED that respondent's Motion for Continuance of Trial, filed October 6, 2022, docket entry 12, is granted in that this case is stricken from the Court's October 31, 2022, Houston, Texas trial session, and this case is continued generally.