Opinion
14941-18
10-03-2022
CRAIG K. POTTS & KRISTEN H. POTTS, Petitioners v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
Cary Douglas Pugh Judge
On August 19, 2022, respondent filed a Motion to Compel Responses to Interrogatories, a Motion to Compel Production of Documents, and a Motion to Review the Sufficiency of Answers or Objections to Request for Admissions. On September 12, 2022, petitioners filed their responses to the motions; on September 23, 2022, respondent filed a First Supplemental Motion to Compel Responses to Respondent's Request for Production of Documents and a First Supplemental Motion to Compel Responses to Respondent's First Interrogatories; and on September 27, 2022, petitioners filed an Opposition to First Supplemental Motion to Compel Responses to Respondent's First Interrogatories and an Opposition to First Supplemental Motion to Compel Responses to Respondent's Request for Production of Documents. Finally, on September 28, 2022, we heard the parties' respective arguments at a remote hearing on the motions.
Upon due consideration and for cause more fully appearing in the transcript of the proceeding, it is hereby
ORDERED that the parties shall, on or before October 28, 2022, file a joint status report and propose agreed dates for trial in September or October 2023 at a special trial session in Phoenix, Arizona. It is further
ORDERED that respondent's Motion to Compel Responses to Interrogatories, as supplemented, and Motion to Compel Production of Documents, as supplemented, filed on August 19, 2022, and supplemented on September 23, 2022, and Motion to Review the Sufficiency of Answers or Objections to Request for Admissions, filed on August 19, 2022, are granted in that petitioners shall, on or before November 9, 2022, file a response to this Order representing that they have:
• Supplemented their responses to respondent's interrogatories Nos. 4, 5, and 6 as described in respondent's Motion to Compel Responses to Interrogatories.
• Supplemented their responses to respondent's request for admissions Nos. 39 and 52 as described in respondent's Motion to Review the Sufficiency of Answers or Objections to Request for Admissions
• Completed production of all documents in their possession or under their control responsive to respondent's pending Motion to Compel Production of Documents for those categories of documents that petitioners may seek to use at trial.
• Set forth the categories of documents for which petitioners are not producing responsive documents and explain the rationale for petitioners' response
It is further
ORDERED that respondent shall, on or before November 16, 2022, file a report and advise the Court as to the present status of discovery efforts in this case and the continued relevance of the pending discovery motions. It is further
ORDERED that to the extent that petitioners decline to produce documents responsive to respondent's Motion to Compel Production of Documents that may be in their possession or under their control, the Court shall exclude those documents from evidence at trial, except for good cause shown. It is further
ORDERED that to the extent that petitioners decline to answer remaining interrogatories or respond to pending requests for admissions, the Court may exclude from evidence at trial any testimony or documents petitioners seek to introduce if respondent can demonstrate that the offered evidence was covered under the topics in the unanswered interrogatories or requests for admissions.