Opinion
4678-21
06-22-2023
BRENDA NAGLE, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER OF DISMISSAL AND DECISION
Ronald L. Buch Judge
This case was called from the calendar at the trial session of the Court at Salt Lake City, Utah, on June 20, 2023, and later recalled on June 21, 2023. Pending before the Court is the Commissioner's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Prosecution, filed June 16, 2023. For reasons more fully appearing in the transcript of the proceedings, we will grant the Commissioner's motion.
On November 2, 2020, the Commissioner issued a notice of deficiency to Ms. Nagle regarding her 2017 tax liability, a year for which she did not file a return. In early 2021, Ms. Nagle filed a timely petition challenging the Commissioner's determinations in that notice.
At times while this case has been pending, it appears that Ms. Nagle pursued her case. According to a motion filed by the Commissioner in May 2022, counsel for the Commissioner and Ms. Nagle spoke regarding her case, and she intended to submit additional information in pursuit of her case. That information was never provided.
Ms. Nagle has not responded to the many attempts to communicate with her. According to the Commissioner's Motion to Dismiss, the Commissioner mailed correspondence and sent emails to Ms. Nagle with no response. The Commissioner served Ms. Nagle with several papers filed in this case, and the Court sent her a notice of trial. On June 24, 2023, the Court left a voicemail message for Ms. Nagle in hopes of holding a conference call to discuss her case in advance of the trial session. Ms. Nagle did not return that call. The Court called this case at the scheduled Salt Lake City trial session on June 20, 2023. Ms. Nagle did not appear. At that time, the Court stated that it would recall this case the following day to provide Ms. Nagle one more chance to appear. The Court called Ms. Nagle and left her a message to that effect.
Instead of appearing when her case was to be recalled, Ms. Nagle left a lengthy voicemail message in which she agreed to dismissal of her case. The Court played this message on the record. The Court attempted to reach Ms. Nagle by phone while on the record, but she did not answer. The Court orally granted the Commissioner's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Prosecution. After the session concluded, Ms. Nagle left another message with the Court.
Ms. Nagle has not properly prosecuted her case. Despite repeated efforts to contact her by both the Commissioner and the Court, she failed to appear for trial. If Ms. Nagle believes this dismissal is in error, she may file a motion to vacate within 30 days. See Rule 161, Tax Court Rules of Practice & Procedure. When doing so, she must show sufficient cause for setting aside the dismissal. For reasons more fully stated on the record, it is
ORDERED that the Commissioner's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Prosecution is granted, and this case is dismissed for lack of prosecution. It is further
ORDERED AND DECIDED that there is a deficiency in income tax due from petitioner for the taxable year 2017 in the amount of $47,968.00, an addition to tax is due from petitioner for the taxable year 2017, under the provisions of I.R.C. § 6651(a) (1), in the amount of $10,792.00, an addition to tax is due from petitioner for the taxable year 2017, under the provisions of I.R.C. § 6651(a)(2), in the amount of $11,992.00, and a penalty is due from petitioner for the taxable year 2017, under the provisions of I.R.C. § 6654, in the amount of $1,148,47.