The Manchester Group and Subsidiaries, Formerly Torrey Enterprises, Inc., and Subsidiaries, Formerly Torrey Development Corporation and Subsidiaries - Page 15

                                         - 15 -                                       

          of Quirk v. Commissioner, 60 T.C. 520, 521 (1973).10  This is               
          particularly true if the party has disregarded those procedures             
          intentionally.                                                              
               As we have already stated, petitioners' counsel should not             
          have executed the stipulated decision and waited to file the                
          instant motions until 89 days after its entry if he did not                 
          intend the stipulated decision to be conclusive as to litigation            
          costs.  However, by so doing, he signaled to the Court, as well             
          as respondent, that all of the issues in the case, specifically             
          including the issue of litigation costs, had been resolved by the           
          parties.  As a consequence, the Court struck this case from the             
          February 28, 1994, trial session in San Diego.  In contrast, if a           
          stipulation of settled issues had been filed, the Court would               
          have known that the issue of litigation costs remained in the               
          case and might have been able to entertain that issue at the San            
          Diego trial session.  Regardless, the fact remains that the                 
          integrity of the Court's Rules was compromised through                      




          10  "The Rules of this Court were adopted for serious reasons               
          and are not to be taken lightly.  Time limitations, for example,            
          are necessary to ensure the speedy and efficient disposition of             
          cases so that evidence and witnesses will not grow stale.                   
          Litigation before this Court would be significantly slowed if we            
          routinely countenanced violations of the time limitations set by            
          our Rules.  And, of course, respondent must be held to the same             
          strict observance of the Rules that we require of taxpayers."               
          Estate of Quirk v. Commissioner, 60 T.C. 520, 521 (1973).                   




Page:  Previous  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  Next

Last modified: May 25, 2011