Opinion
10759-20
08-18-2021
George J. Smith & Sheila Ann Smith Petitioners v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Respondent
ORDER
Maurice B. Foley Chief Judge.
On August 17, 2021, petitioners filed a Motion to Compel Production of Documents. In their motion, petitioners assert that they have on two occasions served formal requests for production of documents on respondent pursuant to Rule 72, Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure, and have received no response from respondent.
This Court's Rules require the parties to cooperate and participate in the informal exchange of information before seeking formal discovery. See Branerton Corp. v. Commissioner, 61 T.C. 691, 692 (1974). Under Rule 70(a)(1), formal discovery may not be used until a party has attempted "to attain the objectives of discovery through informal consultation or communication." Petitioners' motion does not indicate that they have attempted to obtain the information discussed in their Motion To Compel through informal consultation or communication with respondent's counsel. Respondent will normally send a "Branerton letter" to petitioner inviting petitioner to an informal conference to exchange information. However, nothing prohibits petitioners from initiating this conference by contacting respondent's counsel. The informal consultation required by the Court is, therefore, at this time the appropriate forum for petitioners to gather the facts they request from respondent.
Upon due consideration, it is
ORDERED that petitioners' Motion to Compel Production of Documents is denied.