Opinion
8820-20
09-08-2021
JEFFREY A. MILLER & PATRICIA J. MILLER, Petitioners v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Respondent
ORDER
RICHARD T. MORRISON, JUDGE
I. Procedural history
On May 25, 2021, respondent served interrogatories on petitioners.
On July 16, 2021, respondent filed a motion to compel responses to the interrogatories. At the time that respondent filed his motion, petitioners had not answered the interrogatories.
On July 18, 2021, petitioners filed a reply to the motion to compel responses to interrogatories. Despite its title, the court paper was not a reply to respondent's motion. Rather it consisted of answers and objections to respondent's interrogatories.
II. The law
Rule 71(a) allows a party to serve interrogatories (i.e., written questions) on the opposing party.
Rule 71(c) requires each interrogatory to "be answered separately and fully under oath, unless it objected to, in which event the reasons for the objection must be stated in lieu of the answer." Rule 71(b) provides that answers to interrogatories must be made "as completely as the answering party's information shall permit"; however, that the answering party is required to make "reasonable inquiry and ascertain readily obtainable information", and that the answering party "may not give lack of information or knowledge as an answer or as a reason for failure to answer, unless such party states that such party has made reasonable inquiry and that information known or readily obtainable by such party is insufficient to enable such party to answer the substance of the interrogatory."
Rule 71(c) places the burden on the party authoring the interrogatories "to move for an order with respect to any objection or other failure to answer an interrogatory", and to include with the motion (1) the interrogatory and (2) a copy of the answers and objections, if any.
III. Analysis
The ordinary sequence of events leading to a Rule 71(c) motion by respondent is as follows. Respondent serves interrogatories, petitioners answer or object to the interrogatories, and respondent moves to compel interrogatories. In that ordinary course, respondent's motion would state which interrogatories have been answered and therefore do not, in respondent's view, require enforcement. In that ordinary course, respondent's Rule 71 motion would explain respondent's view of petitioners' objections.
Here, however, respondent filed its motion to compel interrogatories before petitioners answered or objected to the interrogatories. Therefore, although we now have petitioners' answers and objections, we do not have respondent's views on which interrogatories have been answered and do not require enforcement and what respondent's position is on petitioners' objections.
It is
ORDERED that respondent shall, on or before October 7, 2021, file a supplement to its July 16, 2021 motion to compel responses to interrogatories.