- 40 -
Burroughs, 801 F.2d 1531, 1537 (9th Cir. 1986) (similar
standards for imposing sanctions pursuant to Rule 11, Fed. R.
Civ. P.). Bad faith may be found not only in the actions that
led to the litigation but also in the conduct of the litigation.
See Harper v. Commissioner, supra.
Ms. Sluyter entered her appearances in the consolidated
cases on April 10, 2000, after the petitions had been filed. It
is clear that, on that date, Ms. Sluyter was aware of the
meritless tax-protester arguments made in the petitions. On
April 4, 2000, a week before her appearances, Ms. Sluyter met
with respondent’s counsel (the April 4 meeting), and she both
repeated and added to the specious arguments made in the
petition. Respondent has provided us with a letter from
respondent’s counsel to Ms. Sluyter, dated April 11, 2000 (the
April 11 letter), analyzing various cases and statutory
provisions, and showing the lack of merit in Ms. Sluyter’s
arguments made at the April 4 meeting. We have examined the
April 11 letter. It put Ms. Sluyter on clear notice that her
arguments were meritless. Nevertheless, Ms. Sluyter has
persisted in those and similar arguments. She has signed
documents submitted to respondent and the Court that contain
meritless and, in some instances, inflammatory, statements:
e.g.:
Page: Previous 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011