Opinion
5506-20
11-24-2021
Siandria Jardell Horsley Petitioner v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Respondent
ORDER
David Gustafson, Judge.
This case is set for trial at the Court's Washington, D.C., remote trial session beginning December 13, 2021, pursuant to our notice of trial and standing pretrial order served July 15, 2021 (Docs. 8-9).
On Monday, November 22, 2021, the Commissioner filed a motion (Doc. 15) to dismiss this case for failure to properly prosecute. The Commissioner's motion alleges that petitioner Siandria Jardell Horsley has not provided any documents or records to support her claims, and that she has been unresponsive to the Commissioner's requests for information throughout the pendency of this case. In the motion, the Commissioner moves the Court to enter a decision for tax year 2013 in the amount set forth in the notice of deficiency. (A complete copy of the notice of deficiency is attached as Exhibit 1 to the Commissioner's response to our order dated September 16, 2020. See Doc. 6.) The motion sets out the Commissioner's unsuccessful attempts by telephone and mail to communicate with Ms. Horsley.
The Court has not yet heard from Ms. Horsley and does not prejudge the case based on the Commissioner's allegations. However, the Court concluded that a pretrial telephone conference with the Court and the parties would be expedient, but the Court has not yet been able to reach Ms. Horsley or leave a message at the telephone number on record with the Court.
In this Court, a petitioner has the duty, as part of properly "prosecuting" her case, to cooperate and communicate with her opponent (counsel for the Commissioner) in order to prepare her case for trial (and so that the parties can resolve among themselves any issues that can be resolved without the Court's involvement). A petitioner's failure to fulfill this duty can result in dismissal of the case "for failure ... properly to prosecute", pursuant to Rule 123(b). Our standing pretrial order (Doc. 9) served in this case on July 15, 2021, stated: "The parties must begin discussing settlement and/or preparation of a stipulation of facts (facts on which the parties agree) as soon as possible.... If a party has trouble communicating with another party or complying with this Order, that party should tell the Judge right away ...."
The Commissioner so advised the Court by his motion to dismiss. If the facts are as the Commissioner alleges, and if the Commissioner's motion to dismiss is granted, it will have the effect of upholding the tax deficiency for 2013 that the IRS determined against Ms. Horsley.
In view of the foregoing, it is
ORDERED that, immediately upon receiving this order, and in any event, no later than December 3, 2021, petitioner Siandria Jardell Horsley, shall telephone the Chambers Administrator of the undersigned judge (at 202-521-0850) for the purpose of scheduling a prompt pretrial telephone conference. It is further
ORDERED that the Commissioner's motion to dismiss for failure to properly prosecute is set for hearing during the Court's December 13, 2021, Washinton, D.C., trial session to be conducted as a remote proceeding at 10:00 a.m. (ET). If Ms. Horsley wishes to oppose the motion, she should appear remotely and be heard at that time. If Ms. Horsley fails to appear, we expect to grant the Commissioner's motion and to dismiss this case for failure to properly prosecute. Such a dismissal has the effect of upholding the income tax deficiency for 2013 in the amount sought by the Commissioner. It is further
ORDERED that the parties shall refer to the notice setting case for trial (Doc. 7) served July 15, 2021, for the Zoomgov Meeting ID and Passcode. It is further
ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall serve with the copy of this order served on petitioner, copies of the Court's (1) Notice of Trial (Doc. 7) and (2) Standing Pretrial Order (Doc. 8) for the Court's December 13, 2021, remote trial session.