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petitioners' cases are distinctly different from the Rousseau
case.
Because of the circumstances summarized above, we do not
consider petitioners' arguments with respect to the Krause and
Rousseau cases applicable to the present cases.
2. Petitioners' Purported Reliance on Tax Advisers
Petitioners maintain that they reasonably relied upon the
advice of qualified advisers. Grelsamer and Morgan discussed the
investment with, and purportedly relied upon, Green and Becker.
In addition, petitioners' tax return preparers apparently
reviewed the offering materials and/or purportedly discussed the
investments with petitioners.
The concept of negligence and the argument of reliance on an
expert are highly fact intensive. Petitioners in these cases are
engineers experienced in organizing and syndicating investments
in the oil industry. One also is experienced in machine
manufacture and the other has for many years been engaged in
business as a professional money manager. These technologically
and financially astute businessmen ultimately relied upon an
accountant to investigate the tax law and the underlying business
circumstances of a proposed investment, the success of which
depended upon a purportedly technologically unique machine.
Becker, who is experienced in tax matters, explains that he made
an investigation within the limits of his resources and abilities
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