Opinion
15933-22
11-16-2023
JOHN KALANTZIS, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
Kathleen Kerrigan, Chief Judge.
Respondent, pursuant to Tax Court Rule 103(a), seeks a protective order limiting disclosure of grand jury materials from the criminal case of United States v. John Kalantzis, Criminal No. 18-10148-WGY (D. Mass.). Respondent argues that the grand jury materials should be protected from dissemination to protect the inner workings of the grand jury in accordance with Fed. R. Crim. Proc. 6(e). Petitioner does not object to the use of a protective order in this context, so long as he is provided a copy of any such materials.
The premises considered, upon due consideration and for cause, it is
ORDERED that, in order to protect against the unauthorized disclosure of grand jury materials, respondent's Motion for Protective Order Pursuant to Rule 103, filed October 17, 2023, is granted as follows:
1. As used in this Order, the term "Grand Jury Materials" refers to all documents produced by respondent which have been identified as part of the grand jury investigation of John Kalantzis.
2. Respondent shall mark each page of the Grand Jury Materials by placing the notation "DOCKET NO. 15933-22 - SEALED PURSUANT TO COURT ORDER" and then produce them to petitioner's counsel.
3. The parties and their counsel may not disclose, discuss, summarize, reveal, relate, quote, give or otherwise communicate, in whole or in part, verbally or in writing, any portion of the contents of any Grand Jury Materials, except to the following persons, and only to the extent reasonably necessary for the purposes listed in paragraph 4 of this Order:
(a) Counsel of record for respondent (and any other employee of the IRS or of the IRS Office of Chief Counsel that counsel for respondent deems appropriate);
(b) Counsel of record for petitioner (and those employees of petitioner's law firm participating in the prosecution of this action);
(c) Any attorney within the Department of Justice Tax Division (and any other employee of the Department of Justice as deemed appropriate by such attorney) as necessary for litigating any appeal of this case;
(d) Any witnesses testifying at a deposition or trial, and, (e) The Court, its staff and any court reporters.
4.None of the Grand Jury Materials shall be used by the parties for any purpose other than for the conduct of this litigation and solely for the purpose of motion practice, trial, trial preparation, depositions, briefing, and for any appeal.
5.To the extent any of the Grand Jury Materials are submitted to the Court, those materials shall be filed under seal in a sealed envelope marked: "TAX COURT DOCKET NO. 15933-22, GRAND JURY MATERIALS ENCLOSED, SEALED PURSUANT TO COURT ORDER", or shall be submitted to the Court in such other manner as petitioner and respondent agree.
6.At any time that the contents of any Grand Jury Materials are presented, quoted, or referenced in any deposition, hearing or trial in this litigation, the parties shall make arrangements (or request the Court to do so) to ensure that only the persons listed in paragraph 3 of this Order are present during such presentation, quotation, or reference. Those portions of the transcript of any proceedings in this matter that contain or refer to any Grand Jury Materials shall be sealed by the Court, and any publically available opinion, decision, or order referencing any of the Grand Jury Materials shall be redacted so as not to disclose the Grand Jury Materials or their contents.
7.Any person receiving any Grand Jury Materials (in whole or in part) shall maintain such items in a manner that limits access only to those persons entitled to access under this Order.
8.Any person referred to in paragraph 3 of this Order may move for relief from any provision of this Order on the grounds of burdensomeness or other good cause shown. Such a motion shall indicate whether petitioner's counsel and respondent's counsel consent to the relief requested.