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increase in the financial statement royalty reserve for such
years.
II. Summary Judgment
A summary judgment is appropriate "if the pleadings, answers
to interrogatories, depositions, admissions, and any other
acceptable materials, together with the affidavits, if any, show
that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that a
decision may be rendered as a matter of law." Rule 121(b). "A
partial summary adjudication may be made which does not dispose of
all the issues in the case." Id. Summary judgment is a device
used to expedite litigation and is intended to avoid unnecessary
and expensive trials of phantom factual questions. See, e.g.,
Espinoza v. Commissioner, 78 T.C. 412, 415-416 (1982). It is not,
however, a substitute for a trial in that disputes over factual
issues are not to be resolved in such proceedings. See id. The
party moving for summary judgment has the burden of showing the
absence of a genuine issue as to any material fact. See id.
III. Discussion
A. Arguments of the Parties
Respondent argues that, because the author contracts provide
that Random House is liable to pay a royalty amount that subtracts
a reasonable reserve for returns, Random House does not owe its
authors the amount of the reasonable reserve for returns. Because
petitioner does not owe this amount, and because it does not
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