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withdrawn as counsel. The taxpayers who continue to pursue those
claims are not entitled to a free ride. We conclude that a
penalty of $5,000 against petitioners should be awarded to the
United States in this case.
It is particularly egregious for taxpayers to be aided in
pursuing frivolous claims by attorneys trained in the law. A
frivolous claim is one that is contrary to established law and
unsupported by a meritorious argument for change in the law.
See, e.g., Nis Family Trust v. Commissioner, 115 T.C. 523, 544
(2000); cf. Harper v. Commissioner, 99 T.C. 533, 548 (1992).
Attorneys who practice in this Court are bound by the ABA Model
Rules of Professional Conduct (Model Rules). Rule 201(a). Rule
3.1 of the Model Rules states in part:
A lawyer shall not bring or defend a proceeding,
or assert or controvert an issue therein, unless there
is a basis in law and fact for doing so that is not
frivolous, which includes a good faith argument for an
extension, modification or reversal of existing law.
* * *
Section 6673(a)(2) provides in part as follow:
Counsel’s liability for excessive costs.--
Whenever it appears to the Tax Court that any
attorney or other person admitted to practice
before the Tax Court has multiplied the
proceedings in any case unreasonably and
vexatiously, the Tax Court may require--
(A) that such attorney or other person
pay personally the excess costs, expenses,
and attorneys’ fees reasonably incurred
because of such conduct * * *
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