Opinion
5329-21
08-27-2021
Martin L. Olsen & Barbara A. Olsen Petitioners v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Respondent
ORDER
Maurice B. Foley Chief Judge
On August 9, 2021, petitioners filed a Motion for Summary Judgment, asserting therein that there are no genuine issues of material fact and this case can be decided in petitioners' favor as a matter of law. In support of that contention, petitioners state that they have received a "no change" letter from the IRS and attached a copy of that letter to the motion. In the motion, petitioners also request that the Court award them litigation costs and attorney's fees.
Petitioners' motion is an improper joinder of motions. See Rule 54(b), Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure. Accordingly, we will deem stricken so much of the motion relating to petitioners' request for litigation costs and attorney's fees. Petitioners are advised that if they wish to seek an award of such costs and fees, they will need to file a proper motion pursuant to Rule 232. We will also recharacterize petitioner's motion as a motion for entry of decision and direct the parties to confer with respect to submitting proposed decision documents for the Court's consideration
Upon due consideration, it is
ORDERED that petitioners' Motion for Summary Judgment is recharacterized as a Motion for Entry of Decision. It is further
ORDERED that so much of the above-referenced motion relating to a request for litigation costs and attorney's fees is deemed stricken from the motion. It is further
ORDERED that, on or before October 26, 2021, the parties shall confer and thereafter file either: (1) a proposed stipulated decision for the Court's consideration, or (2) written reports (preferably joint) concerning the then-current status of this case.