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until after preparation for trial commenced, on May 5, 2003. As
a result, Vogel and Ohrtman did not review the letter on which
petitioner allegedly relied and had no information regarding the
settlement of petitioner’s case any earlier than when documents
were sent to Brown in 1995. Moreover, respondent is not bound
by a letter that was not sent by the IRS.
In any event, the passage of time from October 1993 until
September or October 1998 was attributable to the complexity and
the extent of the Swanton coal programs and not due to a
ministerial error. Sullivan testified during trial as to the
complex issues and lengthy procedures involved in settling the
Swanton coal programs. After lengthy settlement negotiations, in
1994, the Appeals Office prepared computations, and District
Counsel prepared proposed decision documents for all partnerships
involved. During 1995 and 1996, the computations and decision
documents were sent to the TMPs.
Part of the responsibility for the delay falls on
petitioner’s representatives. Sullivan testified that Brown was
generally uncooperative with the IRS, and Sullivan was forced to
speak through intermediaries when dealing with Brown. Sullivan
also needed to send multiple decision documents to Brown before
he signed and returned the documents.
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