- 11 - the party against whom the estoppel is claimed, and as a consequence of that reliance must be adversely affected by the acts or statements of the one against whom an estoppel is claimed; and (4) the party claiming the benefits of estoppel must not know the true facts. Century Data Sys., Inc. v. Commissioner, 86 T.C. 157, 165 (1986); Graff v. Commissioner, supra at 761; Steiner v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1995-122. The party affirmatively asserting an estoppel has the burden of proving all the essential elements constituting the estoppel. Steiner v. Commissioner, supra. Accordingly, respondent bears the burden of proving each of the above elements. Rules 39, 142(a). 1. Misrepresentation or Misleading Silence To sustain equitable estoppel, respondent must show that Energy took "some action" which misled respondent. Century Data Sys. Inc. v. Commissioner, supra at 166. Respondent contends that Energy made false representations or wrongful misleading silences, when it did not tell respondent that New Petroleum had merged out of existence, and that its officers had no power to act. Respondent further contends that the representations were part of a pattern of false representations and misleading silences that caused respondent to believe mistakenly that the period of limitations had been extended. Respondent argues that these material misrepresentations were bolstered by Energy's continuing relations with respondent's Appeals officers, where 25Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011