119 T.C. No. 8
UNITED STATES TAX COURT
SCHNEIDER INTERESTS, L.P., RUSS SCHNEIDER FARMS, L.L.C., TAX
MATTERS PARTNER, Petitioner v.
COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
Docket No. 200-02. Filed September 30, 2002.
Four months after the instant case was docketed, R sent
P a so-called Branerton letter consisting of 68 pages of
questions and requests for documents. Thirty-five days
later, R instituted formal discovery by serving upon P 77
pages of interrogatories and 78 pages of requests for
production of documents. R rejected P’s suggestion that
compliance with formal discovery be postponed until the
parties held a conference, stating that the instant case is
"a good candidate for designation for litigation under IRM
35.3.14." P then filed a Motion for Protective Order
seeking to stay compliance with formal discovery. Held, a
protective order shall be issued. R’s service of formal
discovery is inconsistent with Rule 70(a)(1) and with the
cases, such as Branerton v. Commissioner, 61 T.C. 691
(1974), which direct the parties to utilize informal
consultation or communication before employing the formal
discovery procedures.
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