- 17 -
that he maintained exclusive control over all tax matters
including the handling of the District Court collection action.
Accordingly, we hold that respondent is entitled to summary
judgment that petitioner Scott P. Thurner is barred under section
6015(g)(2) from claiming relief under section 6015 for the years
1981, 1990, and 1992.
In contrast, we are unable to conclude on this record that
petitioner Yvonne E. Thurner participated meaningfully in the
District Court collection action. Petitioner Yvonne E. Thurner’s
assertion that she merely complied with her husband’s
instructions to sign the pleadings and various other documents
that were filed in the District Court collection action raises an
issue of material fact as to her level of participation in that
proceeding. Under the circumstances, drawing factual inferences
in a manner most favorable to the party opposing summary
judgment, see Dahlstrom v. Commissioner, 85 T.C. at 821, we
conclude that respondent is not entitled to summary judgment that
petitioner Yvonne E. Thurner is barred from claiming relief under
section 6015 for the years 1981, 1990, and 1992. The question of
the applicability of the bar of res judicata under section
6015(g)(2) as to petitioner Yvonne E. Thurner can be resolved
only after further development of the record through discovery or
trial of the case.
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011