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We conclude that, under the circumstances of the instant
case, a protective order should be issued. The order will direct
the parties to participate, in good faith, in informal
conferences during the next 90 days. The conferences shall be
directed to developing stipulated facts for purposes of the
instant litigation. After that time, if there are matters still
unsettled, the parties may resort to the formal discovery
provisions of the Tax Court Rules.
There are two other motions to consider. One is
petitioner’s Motion for Leave to File a Reply to Respondent’s
Objection to Petitioner’s Motion for Protective Order, which we
shall deny as moot. The other is petitioner’s Motion to Strike,
as unnecessarily argumentative, certain paragraphs in
Respondent’s Objection to Petitioner’s Motion for Protective
Order, which we shall also deny. A description of the parties’
positions is necessary to our consideration of a request for a
protective order. To the extent that respondent may have
provided more exposition than may have been necessary (obviously
missing the point of petitioner’s objection to proceeding with
formal discovery), we shall ignore it. When and if this case is
submitted, we shall base our decision on the facts agreed to or
developed at trial and upon the arguments set forth in the
posttrial briefs.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011