Harris Levin and Gayle Levin - Page 12

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          petition or settle a case on her behalf.  She denied signing a              
          joint tax return, and respondent asserted that the Court did not            
          have jurisdiction because she neither filed nor ratified the                
          petition filed by her husband.  All parties agreed that                     
          Mrs. Levitt did not authorize Mr. Levitt to file the petition in            
          the case on her behalf.  In Levitt II, a motion to vacate a                 
          decision for lack of jurisdiction was granted.  The Court                   
          concluded that the facts shown may have vested implied authority            
          in Mr. Levitt to file Federal income tax returns on behalf of               
          Mrs. Levitt but that "the nexus between that authority and the              
          authority to file a petition on her behalf in this Court is                 
          simply not there."                                                          
               In this case, however, the nexus missing in Levitt II is               
          present.  That is, Ms. Levin was aware that a dispute over their            
          taxes had arisen and was repeatedly assured by Mr. Levin that it            
          was being taken care of.  She thus implicitly authorized those              
          steps that reasonably followed the tax dispute through this                 
          Court.  We believe that the cases relied on by respondent,                  
          although each factually specific, are analogous.  See, e.g.,                
          Kraasch v. Commissioner, 70 T.C. 623, 626-628 (1978); Takamoto v.           
          Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1996-94; Stillman v. Commissioner, T.C.            
          Memo. 1995-591; DiSanza v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1993-142,               
          affd. without published opinion 9 F.3d 1538 (2d Cir. 1993); John            
          Arnold Executrak Sys., Inc. v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1990-6.             





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