Estate of Isabelle N. Greenwood, Deceased, Donna Norquist and Christine N. Stamey, Independent Co-Executrixes - Page 11




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          742, 757 (1970), affd. 445 F.2d 985 (10th Cir. 1971), to follow             
          the opinions of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth            
          Circuit in Ward v. Commissioner, 907 F.2d 517 (5th Cir. 1990),              
          revg. 92 T.C. 949 (1989), and Mulder v. Commissioner, 855 F.2d              
          208 (5th Cir. 1988), revg. T.C. Memo. 1987-363.  According to the           
          estate, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held in Ward             
          and Mulder that notices of deficiency mailed to an address other            
          than the taxpayer’s last known address were invalid.  Respondent            
          disagrees.  Respondent contends that Ward and Mulder are                    
          distinguishable from this case and that, therefore, we are not              
          obligated to treat the opinions as precedent under Golsen.  We              
          agree.                                                                      
               In Golsen v. Commissioner, supra at 757, we held that we               
          must “follow a Court of Appeals decision which is squarely in               
          point where appeal from our decision lies to that Court of                  
          Appeals and to that court alone.”  We shall assume arguendo for             
          purposes of this analysis, that an appeal from our decision in              
          this case would lie in the Court of Appeals for the Fifth                   
          Circuit.  See sec. 7482(b)(1).  We shall focus our analysis on              
          whether the opinions of the Court of Appeals in Ward and Mulder             
          are “squarely in point”.  A comparison of the undisputed facts in           
          this case with the facts found by the Court of Appeals in Ward              
          and Mulder confirms that the cases are distinguishable.                     








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