Opinion
7535-20
03-09-2022
Stephen C. Johnson & Shilpa P. Johnson Petitioners v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Respondent
ORDER
Mark V. Holmes Judge
This case is on the April 4, 2022 Los Angeles, California trial calendar. It's based on a notice of deficiency stemming almost entirely from issues of substantiation of the Johnsons' 2016 and 2017 Schedules C and E. On March 1, 2022 petitioners moved without objection for a third continuance. We spoke with the parties on March 7 to learn why trial preparation was taking so long. We learned that discovery was incomplete, no facts had been stipulated, and not a single issue settled. Respondent thought he'd sent a Branerton letter in March 2021, but petitioners were unsure they had seen it.
The Court has concluded that customized deadlines are needed in this case. It is therefore
ORDERED that petitioners' March 1, 2022 motion for continuance is granted in that this case is stricken from the Court's April 4, 2022 trial calendar. But it is also
ORDERED that this division of the Court retains jurisdiction. And it is
ORDERED that on or before March 15, 2022 respondent shall either confirm with petitioners that a comprehensive Branerton letter has already been sent and received, or he shall send one to petitioners. It is also
ORDERED on or before May 2, 2022 petitioners shall deliver (and note that this is deliver, not send) to respondent's counsel assigned to these cases all records that they believe substantiate their contested income and deductions for the tax years at issue in these cases. Any records that they do not deliver to IRS will not be allowed into evidence in any trial of these cases. It is also
ORDERED that on or before May 16, 2022 the parties shall file a status report describing their progress in settling the case or narrowing the issues to be tried.