7 brief, though ultimately unsuccessful. Having decided not to apply to the Supreme Court of the United States for certiorari, respondent moved very promptly following the expiration of the time for filing a petition for writ of certiorari to send a letter to petitioner's counsel conceding this case. In this case, the concession came within a matter of days. From this Court's firsthand knowledge of the disposition of hundreds of these actuarial cases, it is clear that respondent has moved quickly and with dispatch. Under these circumstances, a taxpayer would be hard pressed to establish that the Commissioner's litigating position was maintained for an excessive period of time following her decision to concede the actuarial cases and hence was not substantially justified. It is noted that the settlement in Price v. Commissioner, supra, occurred when the case was called for trial on June 24, 1993. That date was prior to the affirmances in Vinson & Elkins, Wachtell, Lipton, and Citrus Valley, all of which were decided in favor of the taxpayers. The decision in Jerome Mirza & Associates, Ltd. v. United States, supra, favoring the Commissioner had been on the books since 1989. In Price, we said: Under the foregoing circumstances, we think it clear that had respondent decided to continue litigating the instant cases to an unsuccessful conclusion on the substantive issue, she would have been justified in so doing at least as long as there was no further definitive action on that issue at the appellate level. [102 T.C. at 664.]Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
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