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Gulfstream Land & Dev. Corp. & Subs. v. Commissioner, 71 T.C. 587,
596 (1979). Summary judgment is intended to expedite litigation and
avoid unnecessary and expensive trials. Florida Peach Corp. v.
Commissioner, 90 T.C. 678, 681 (1988).
We discussed in Manko I the nature of, and requirements for,
binding settlement agreements. Essentially, the compromise and
settlement of tax cases is governed by general principles of
contract law. Dorchester Indus., Inc. v. Commissioner, 108 T.C.
320, 330 (1997).
A. Scope of the Settlement Agreement
The evidence clearly establishes that there was one blanket
settlement between respondent and petitioners (that respondent
offered to all Arbitrage Management investors in December 1987)
encompassing all years (both docketed and nondocketed) in which
petitioners claimed Arbitrage Management partnership loss
deductions. It was a package settlement. The settlement resolved
an issue (i.e, the deductibility of Arbitrage Management losses)
rather than a specific taxable year. Moreover, the offer was
available to petitioners, who were members of a class to whom the
offer was extended, on the same terms that were available to all
other Arbitrage Management investors. Petitioners accepted the
blanket settlement offer referred to in Ms. Kaplan's January 15,
1988, acceptance letter. That letter clearly stated that the
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