Opinion
13619-15
01-25-2023
LAKSHMANA KOKA & VIDHYALAK KOKA, Petitioners v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
Mark V. Holmes Judge
This case and its companion were on the Court's May 23, 2016 trial calendar for San Diego, California. In November 2019, the parties filed a stipulation of settled issues that resolved all issues. We put it on a status-report track in the expectation that respondent would seek computations, share them with the Kokas, and together draft decision documents to bring the case to a close. We know that respondent's counsel sought computations, but something in the IRS bureaucracy broke down and for more than three years no computations were done. They still have not been done, as we confirmed in a call with the parties on January 24, 2023.
This is an unusual and unsatisfactory state of affairs. Respondent's counsel has promised to keep trying to elevate the urgency of the situations with the computations specialists. He asks to report next week; if this doesn't work, the Court is highly likely to invite petitioners to try to submit their own even though they shouldn't have to bear that expense, and it recognizes this as a situation in which cost-shifting would very likely be reasonable. But the case needs to draw to a close, and it is
ORDERED that on or before January 31, 2023 respondent shall file a status report on his progress.