Opinion
25974-17
11-17-2022
MICHAEL ZORN, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
Courtney D. Jones, Judge.
This case is calendared for further trial at the remote session of the Court scheduled to commence at 2:00 PM (ET) on December 12, 2022, for Baltimore, Maryland. On November 14, 2022, respondent filed a Motion for Continuance. Therein, respondent represents that his counsel has a conflict on December 12. For reasons stated below, we will deny respondent's Motion.
The Notice of Remote Proceedings (Doc. 126) states: "[t]his case has been scheduled for a remote proceeding on December 12, 2022, at 1:00 PM (ET)." (Emphasis added). Due to the typographical error, we will strike the aforementioned Notice and serve the parties with a corrected Notice to properly reflect that the trial is scheduled to commence at "2:00 PM (ET)"
As previously stated in our Order dated March 30, 2022 (Doc. 118), "[i]n light of the significant delay that resolution of this case has already experienced, the Court is concerned about a further delay." If the Court grants respondent's Motion, it would be the fifth continuance of trial and would further delay the third partial trial in this case. The significant number of continuances and an additional delay weigh against granting the Motion.
Moreover, the aforementioned trial was scheduled on July 6, 2022 (Doc. 125). The parties have been on notice of this date for more than five months and petitioner has not agreed to a different date. We believe that the parties were given adequate time to prepare. Accordingly, neither party has an excuse for not completing trial on December 12 and we are not inclined to deviate from it.
Finally, Tax Court Rule 133 states that "[c]ontinuances will be granted only in exceptional circumstances. Conflicting engagements of counsel … ordinarily will not be regarded as ground for continuance." We are not inclined to further delay the disposition of this case. If the parties are unable to complete further trial, as scheduled, they may file a joint motion to submit the case on the record of trial or reengage their efforts to otherwise resolve it.
Upon due consideration, it is
ORDERED that respondent's Motion for Continuance, filed November 14, 2022, is denied. The parties are expected to appear at the remote trial at 2:00 PM (ET), on Monday, December 12, 2022. It is further
ORDERED that due to an inadvertent clerical error, the Notice of Remote Proceedings, served on the parties on July 6, 2022 (Doc. 126), is stricken from the record in this case. It is further
ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall issue a corrected Notice of Remote Proceeding to the parties that shall contain comprehensive instructions on how to participate in the above-referenced remote proceeding.