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adduced, no stipulations were filed in the record, and no factual
or legal bases upon which the deficiency was settled were recited
in the stipulated decision. The compromise and settlement of tax
cases is governed by general principles of contract law. Robbins
Tire & Rubber Co. v. Commissioner, 52 T.C. 420, 435-436 (1969);
Brink v. Commissioner, 39 T.C. 602, 606 (1962), affd. 328 F.2d
622 (6th Cir. 1964). Where a decision is entered pursuant to a
stipulated settlement, the parties normally are held to their
agreement without regard to whether the decision is correct on
the merits. Stamm International Corp. v. Commissioner, 90 T.C.
315, 321-322 (1988); Spector v. Commissioner, 42 T.C. 110 (1964).
It is within this framework that petitioner asks for leave
to file the motion to vacate. Petitioner contends that there was
not a meeting of the minds because respondent failed to advise
him of the continuing accrual of interest, and thus a fraud was
perpetrated on this Court sufficient to justify granting the two
motions.
We defined "fraud on the court" in Abatti v. Commissioner,
86 T.C. 1319, 1325 (1986), affd. 859 F.2d 115 (9th Cir. 1988), as
follows:
Fraud on the court is "only that species of fraud which
does, or attempts to, defile the court itself, or is a
fraud perpetrated by officers of the court so that the
judicial machinery can not perform in the usual manner
its impartial task of adjud[g]ing cases that are
presented for adjudication. Fraud, inter partes,
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