- 20 - unpublished opinion 106 F.3d 386 (3d Cir. 1996); Murphy v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1995-76. In Harper v. Commissioner, supra, counsel for the taxpayer (1) failed to comply with the Court's order to produce documents requested by the Commissioner pursuant to discovery, (2) filed a frivolous motion for summary judgment, (3) failed to file a proper trial memorandum, (4) failed to prepare for trial as directed by the Court, and (5) failed to respond to the Commissioner's motion for sanctions. In that case, we held that counsel for the taxpayer had unreasonably and vexatiously multiplied the proceedings by displaying a contemptuous disregard for the Court's Rules and orders, acting in bad faith, and knowingly abusing the judicial process throughout the course of the proceeding. See id. at 549. In Harper v. Commissioner, supra at 545, noting the dearth of judicial opinions interpreting and applying section 6673(a)(2), we relied upon case law under 28 U.S.C. section 1927 for guidance on the level of misconduct justifying sanctions. We found that most Courts of Appeals require a showing of bad faith as a condition of imposing sanctions. See Oliveri v. Thompson, 803 F.2d 1265, 1273 (2d Cir. 1986). The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (the apparent venue for appeal of these cases) has held that sanctions under 28 U.S.C. section 1927 are appropriate where the conduct causing multiplication of the proceedings wasPage: Previous 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Next
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