Opinion
25461-16
08-21-2023
DESMOND MCGUIRE & CORY LYNNE BRAME, ET AL., Petitioners v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
Ronald L. Buch Judge
Counsel for the Commissioner filed a twisted knot of documents in these consolidated cases. Most of the threads in this knot either were filed in the wrong case or contained an incorrect caption. And all of the threads in this knot were internally inconsistent. With this order, we will slice through the knot.
These five cases are consolidated. Counsel for the Commissioner includes Mr. Sledz and Mr. Heitmeyer. As is apparent from the various documents that were filed, Mr. Sledz and Mr. Heitmeyer are withdrawing from these cases. They attempted to removed themselves by filing seven separate notices of withdrawal as counsel, each of which was filed across all of these consolidated cases. Six of these were filed by or on behalf of Mr. Sledz. Each bore a single docket number. And as a savvy reader did the math may have already realized, docket numbers were duplicated (see index numbers 30 and 33, and indices 31 and 35). In addition, although each of these notices of withdrawal was electronically filed in all of these consolidated cases, none of the notices of withdrawal filed by or on behalf of Mr. Sledz included docket number 2589-23 in its caption. As for Mr. Heitmeyer, his notice of withdrawal of counsel was electronically filed in the lead case and across all of these consolidated cases (which is proper), but the caption only bore the docket number for the lead case.
As for the substance of these withdrawals of counsel, they all recite that counsel withdraws, but go on to state that "[n]otice of the substitution" as been given to opposing counsel. But there is no substitution; these are withdrawals. To clean up the record, it is
ORDERED that the following docket entries are deemed stricken:
1. In docket no. 25461-16, entries 29, 30, 31, 33, and 35
2. In docket no. 22725-17, entries 29, 30, 31, 33, and 35
3. In docket no. 11882-18, entries 29, 30, 31, 33, and 35
4. In docket no. 15581-18, entries 47, 48, 49, 51, and 53
5. In docket no. 5689-23, entries 13, 14, 15, 17, and 19
It is further
ORDERED that the Clerk shall removed Mr. Sledz as counsel of record for Respondent from all of these consolidated cases. It is further
ORDERED that the Clerk shall remove Mr. Heitmeyer as counsel of record for Respondent from all of these consolidated cases.