Opinion
11814-19
09-29-2022
OCONEE LANDING PROPERTY, LLC, OCONEE LANDING INVESTORS, LLC, TAX MATTERS PARTNER, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
Albert G. Lauber Judge
This case is calendared for trial at a two-week special session in Atlanta, Georgia, beginning November 14, 2022. On August 17, 2022, respondent issued Timothy L. Reynolds a subpoena commanding his appearance at the trial of this case. On September 12, 2022, Mr. Reynolds filed a Motion to Quash Trial Subpoena. In his Motion, Mr. Reynolds asked the Court, pursuant to Rule 147(b), to quash the subpoena because he (1) does not live, work, or regularly transact business within 100 miles of Atlanta and (2) does not possess any noncumulative or unique information regarding the subject matter of this case. On September 27, 2022, respondent filed a motion for leave to file an objection to the Motion to Quash and lodged with it an Objection. We have granted respondent's motion for leave.
In his Objection, Respondent states that he will seek to have admitted into evidence one or more documents that Mr. Reynolds produced during discovery in connection with the transactions at issue in this case. Mr. Reynolds' testimony may be needed in order to authenticate one or more of these documents, or to overcome hearsay objections raised by petitioner. On the latter point, respondent represents that he has been unable to secure record declarations that would qualify these documents for the "business records" exception to the hearsay rule. Finally, respondent indicates that he may call Mr. Reynolds as a witness at trial to ask him about his involvement in the transactions at issue.
For the foregoing reasons, we will deny the Motion to Quash. However, we will permit Mr. Reynolds to provide his trial testimony remotely via Zoomgov, which the Court has employed with some regularity in recent years. This method would presumably moot the distance-from-the-courthouse objection that Mr. Reynolds raised in his Motion to Quash. We also note that Mr. Reynolds' testimony may not be needed at all. As Mr. Reynolds suggested in his Motion, respondent may be able to establish the admissibility of the documents that Mr. Reynolds produced through the testimony of Mercer Reynolds or another witness. Depending on the Court's rulings on various evidentiary issues, Mr. Reynolds' testimony may prove unnecessary or duplicative to respondent's case.
In consideration of the foregoing, it is
ORDERED that the Motion to Quash Trial Subpoena of Timothy L. Reynolds, filed on September 12, 2022, is denied. If Mr. Reynolds is called as a witness at the trial, the Court will permit him to testify remotely via Zoomgov. It is further
ORDERED that, in addition to regular service, the Clerk of the Court shall serve a copy of this Order on Timothy L. Reynolds at 408 W. Brookfield Dr., Nashville, TN 37205 and on counsel Sarah E. Paul at SarahPaul@eversheds-sutherland.us.