Opinion
18290-18 330-19
06-23-2023
ROBERT KNUDSEN AND ESTATE OF SHARON KNUDSEN, DECEASED, CHARLES W. BUCHTA, EXECUTOR, Petitioners v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
Albert G. Lauber Judge.
These "micro-captive" insurance cases involving petitioners' 2014-2016 tax years are set for trial at a special session of the Court beginning on March 18, 2024, in Reno, Nevada. On April 21, 2023, respondent filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. By Order served April 26, 2023, we directed petitioners to file a Response to that Motion by June 26, 2023.
On April 24, 2023, petitioners' attorneys filed a Motion to Withdraw as Counsel. They represented that a recent legal action between Robert Knudsen and the Estate of Sharon L. Knudsen, for which Charles Buchta serves as executor, has created a conflict of interest. By Order served April 26, 2023, we directed respondent and Mr. Buchta to file Responses to that Motion by June 26, 2023.
On June 1, 2023, respondent filed a Motion to Set Pretrial Scheduling Order that included a proposed pre-trial schedule. By Order served June 7, 2023, we directed petitioners to show cause in writing by June 26, 2023, why respondent's pre-trial scheduling order should not be adopted.
On June 19, 2023, petitioners' counsel filed a First Supplement to Motion to Withdraw as Counsel. They represented that they had "confer[red] with Dallis Nordstrom Rohde, counsel to Mr. Buchta" in the legal action referenced above. They indicated that "[p]etitioners' Counsel, Mr. Knudsen, and Mr. Buchta's counsel all agree that withdrawal is required to ensure fair representation of all parties and to serve the best interests of justice."
On June 22, 2023, the undersigned held an informal conference call with the parties. During the call petitioners' current counsel indicated that several documents relating to their Motion to Withdraw will be submitted to the Court by June 26, 2023.
We will act on that Motion as soon as those documents are filed, and we will extend by 30 days petitioners' deadline to respond to respondent's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. To avoid undue delay in trial preparation, we will grant respondent's Motion to Set Pretrial Scheduling Order. If new counsel enter an appearance for petitioners and believe good cause exists for modifying the scheduling order set forth below, they may file an appropriate motion (indicating whether or not respondent objects).
Upon due consideration and consistent with the telephone conference, it is
ORDERED that the time within which petitioners shall file their Response to respondent's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment is extended to July 24, 2023. It is further
ORDERED that petitioners are no longer obligated to show cause in writing by June 26, 2023, why respondent's proposed pre-trial schedule should not be adopted. It is further
ORDERED that respondent's Motion to Set Pretrial Scheduling Order, filed June 1, 2023, is granted. It is further
ORDERED that the parties are directed to adhere to the following pre-trial schedule:
Due Date
Description
September 20, 2023
Deadline for filing an initial stipulation of facts along with all referenced exhibits. The filing of the initial stipulation of facts does not preclude the parties from filing additional stipulations of facts any time before trial; however, it is expected that the parties will attempt to reach an initial stipulation of facts that is as comprehensive as possible.
October 20, 2023
Deadline for serving notices of deposition with respect to any non-expert witnesses or filing any motions for deposition with respect to any non-expert witnesses.
November 3, 2023
Deadline for identifying expert witnesses by exchanging (i) the expert's name and business address; (ii) the expert's curriculum vitae; (iii) a summary of the anticipated topics of the expert's testimony; (iv) a list of all publications authored by the expert within the preceding ten years; and (v) a list of any other cases in which the expert has testified as an expert at trial or by deposition within the preceding ten years.
November 8, 2023
Deadline for filing all motions for summary judgment and any and all other dispositive motions.
November 17, 2023
Deadline for serving/filing formal discovery, including interrogatories, requests for production of documents, and requests for admissions.
December 8, 2023
Deadline for filing any motion for a document subpoena hearing.
December 18, 2023
Deadline for lodging with the Court opening expert witness re-ports. A case in-chief expert witness for whom a report is not exchanged under this paragraph will not be permitted to testify without approval of the Court before trial.
December 18, 2023
Deadline for exchanging expert witness workpapers relating to the opening expert witness reports, except those protected from discovery by Tax Court Rule 70(c)(3) and (4). Expert workpapers include (i) any facts, data, documents, or other information considered by the expert witness in forming the opinions to be offered by the expert (the "Opinions"), including assumptions that the party's attorney provided and that the expert relied on in forming the Opinions; (ii) copies of any sources not generally publicly available; (iii) worksheets, schedules, and other docu-ments reflecting computations considered by the expert in form-ing the Opinions; and (iv) any exhibits that will be used as a summary of or support for the Opinions (this does not apply to exhibits under Federal Rule of Evidence 1006).
January 12, 2024
Deadline for filing any motions to compel discovery, to review the sufficiency of the answers or objections to requests for ad-missions, for sanctions regarding responses to discovery and re-quests for admissions, and to compel depositions of non-expert witnesses.
January 17, 2024
Deadline for filing any motions in limine with respect to opening expert witness reports, including, but not limited to, a motion to strike all or part of any opening expert witness report.
January 22, 2024
Deadline for identifying rebuttal expert witnesses by exchanging (i) the rebuttal expert's name and business address; (ii) the rebuttal expert's curriculum vitae; (iii) a summary of the anticipated topics of the rebuttal expert's testimony; (iv) a list of all publications authored by the rebuttal expert within the preceding ten years; and (v) a list of any other cases in which the rebuttal expert has testified as an expert at trial or by deposition within the preceding ten years.
February 2, 2024
Deadline for filing any motions to compel stipulation pursuant to Tax Court Rule 91(f).
February 2, 2024
Deadline for lodging with the Court expert witness rebuttal re-ports. A rebuttal expert witness for whom a report is not ex-changed under this paragraph will not be permitted to testify without approval of the Court before trial.
February 2, 2024
Deadline for exchanging expert witness workpapers relating to the rebuttal expert witness reports, except those protected from discovery by Tax Court Rule 70(c)(3) and (4). Rebuttal expert workpapers include (i) any facts, data, documents, or other in-formation considered by the rebuttal expert witness in forming the opinions to be offered by the rebuttal expert (the "Rebuttal Opinions"), including assumptions that the party's attorney provided and that the rebuttal expert relied on in forming the Re-buttal Opinions; (ii) copies of any sources not generally publicly available; (iii) worksheets, schedules, and other documents reflecting computations considered by the rebuttal expert in forming the Rebuttal Opinions; and (iv) any exhibits that will be used as a summary of or support for the Rebuttal Opinions (this does not apply to exhibits under Federal Rule of Evidence 1006).
February 9, 2024
Deadline for exchanging any documents or written materials to be used at trial that have not been stipulated (except documents and written materials intended to be used solely for impeachment purposes). Any documents or written materials not ex-changed will not be received into evidence unless otherwise agreed to by the parties or allowed by the Court upon sufficient showing of good case.
February 12, 2024
Deadline for filing any oppositions to any motions to compel and motions in limine with respect to any opening expert witness re-ports.
February 16, 2024
Deadline for filing with the Court pre-trial memoranda. The pre-trial memoranda shall set forth the issues to be tried, along with a summary of relevant facts and applicable law with re-spect thereto. The pre-trial memoranda shall identify any evi-dentiary issues expected to arise at trial, as well as any other significant issue on which a ruling will be required by the Court. The pretrial memoranda shall identify all witnesses expected to testify at trial, including expert witnesses, and shall include brief summaries of the anticipated testimony of the witnesses. Witnesses who are not so identified will not be permitted to testify at trial unless otherwise agreed to by the parties or allowed by the Court upon sufficient showing of good cause although the parties may reserve the right to call witnesses listed by the other party, or for the purpose of rebuttal or impeachment, or to testify to documents or evidence obtained after the date of the pre-trial memoranda.
February 16, 2024
Deadline for lodging any unagreed exhibits with the Court (ex-cept documents and written materials intended to be used solely for impeachment purposes). Any unagreed exhibits not so lodged will not be received into evidence unless otherwise agreed to by the parties or allowed by the Court upon sufficient showing of good case.
February 16, 2024
Deadline for lodging any supplemental stipulation of facts.
February 20, 2024
Deadline for filing with the Court a joint status report setting forth the parties' plans for the use of electronic trial presenta-tion equipment at trial. The joint status report will set forth the dates on which the parties require access to the courtroom to set up the electronic trial presentation equipment, the individuals who will need access to the courtroom, and the electronic equip-ment which will be set up in the courtroom.
February 20, 2024
Deadline to file a motion to proceed remotely with respect to the testimony of any fact witness listed in the parties' pre-trial memoranda.
February 26, 2024
Deadline for filing any motions in limine with respect to rebut-tal expert witness reports, including, but not limited to, a mo-tion to strike all or part of any rebuttal expert witness report.
February 26, 2024
Deadline for filing any motions in limine with respect to any non-expert witness and an evidentiary issue.
March 8, 2024
Deadline for filing any oppositions to any motions in limine with respect to any rebuttal expert witness report, any non-expert witness, and any evidentiary issue.
March 18, 2024
Trial commences.
Any events not addressed in this Order will be governed by the timeframes set forth in the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure.
Whenever the parties are required to serve, file, exchange, or submit a document or documents on a particular day, they shall do so by delivering the document(s) to the opposing party on that day by facsimile or e-mail between the parties or, in the event that is not practical due to either the size or volume of the document(s), by tendering a USB flash drive or DVD with an electronic copy of the document(s) to FedEx, UPS, or USPS.
With respect to documents that must be electronically filed or lodged with the Court, the Tax Court's Rules of Practice and Procedure and the Court's electronic filing guidelines control the appropriate method for filing or lodging such documents and serving them on the opposing party. Documents electronically filed or lodged with the Court and electronically served on the opposing party through the Court's electronic filing system (i.e., DAWSON) need not be transmitted to the opposing party via facsimile or e-mail.
If documents are to be exchanged via e-mail (provided that the parties have executed a secured messaging memorandum of understanding), the transmitting party shall contact the receiving party within 24 hours to ensure the e-mail was received by the receiving party if notification of receipt is not given sooner by the receiving party.
If the documents are to be exchanged via facsimile, a fax transmittal record generated by the transmitting party's fax system and retained by the transmitting party will serve as evidence of timely transmittal.
If document(s) are to be exchanged electronically on a USB flash drive or DVD, the transmitting party is required to deliver the USB flash drive or DVD expedi-tiously to the receiving party by using overnight or second day air shipping or mailing and to e-mail the tracking information to the receiving party. The tracking information reflecting the tendering of the USB flash drive or DVD to FedEx, UPS, or USPS will serve as evidence of timely transmittal.
In the event of an issue by the receiving party with accessing an e-mail or facsimile transmission or electronic document(s) on a USB flash drive or DVD, upon notification by the receiving party of such issue the transmitting party will immediately re-transmit the document(s).