Alec Jeffrey Megibow - Page 15

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          nothing could be gained toward disposition by granting                      
          petitioner’s motion.  We affirm our earlier denial.                         
               Reopening the record for the submission of additional                  
          evidence is a matter within the discretion of the trial court.              
          Zenith Radio Corp. v. Hazeltine Research, Inc., 401 U.S. 321, 331           
          (1971); Butler v. Commissioner, 114 T.C. 276, 286-287 (2000).               
          The standard for doing so may be summarized as follows:  “A court           
          will not grant a motion to reopen the record unless, among other            
          requirements, the evidence relied on is not merely cumulative or            
          impeaching, the evidence is material to the issues involved, and            
          the evidence probably would change the outcome of the case.”                
          Butler v. Commissioner, supra at 287.3                                      
               Petitioner’s motion to reopen the record seeks to have the             
          Court admit his bank and credit card statements for 1997 through            
          1999.  These proffered items fall short of the foregoing                    
          standard.  Even if admitted, the documents would not alter the              
          outcome in this case.  The 3 years of financial statements in               


               3 The Court notes that prior to the trial of this case, we             
          contacted counsel for petitioner and respondent by conference               
          calls and implored the parties to acknowledge and obey the                  
          Court’s standing pretrial order and the Tax Court Rules of                  
          Practice and Procedure.  These items require the parties to                 
          stipulate facts and documents not reasonably in dispute and to              
          exchange before trial documents to be introduced as evidence.  In           
          addition, the trial of this case was delayed for an hour to                 
          afford petitioner an eleventh hour opportunity to provide                   
          documents to respondent; this effort resulted in petitioner’s two           
          exhibits’, described supra in text, being admitted at trial                 
          despite respondent’s objections.                                            





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