- 48 -48 Revenue (Commissioner) took the position in Beech Trucking Co. v. Commissioner, 118 T.C. 428 (2002), that the driver-leasing company in that case (i.e., Arkansas Trucking Service) was not the employer of the truck drivers whom it leased to Beech Truck- ing Co., Inc., whereas the Commissioner takes the inconsistent position in the instant case that the driver-leasing company in this case (i.e., TLC) was the employer of each driver-employee whom it leased to each trucking company client. The doctrine of judicial estoppel is designed to protect the integrity of the courts by preventing a party from asserting positions contradictory to or inconsistent with positions as- serted in prior litigation. New Hampshire v. Maine, 532 U.S. 742, 749-750 (2001); Leonard v. Southwestern Bell Corp. Disabil- ity Income Plan, 341 F.3d 696, 702 (8th Cir. 2003); Huddleston v. Commissioner, 100 T.C. 17, 26 (1993). We observed in Huddleston v. Commissioner, supra at 26: Judicial estoppel generally requires acceptance by a court of the prior position and does not require priv- ity or detrimental reliance of the party seeking to invoke judicial estoppel. * * * Acceptance by a court does not mean that the party being estopped prevailed in the prior proceeding with regard to the ultimate matter in dispute, but rather only that a particular position or argument asserted by the party in the prior proceeding was accepted by the court. * * * The Court has discretion as to whether to invoke the doctrine of judicial estoppel. Fazi v. Commissioner, 105 T.C. 436, 446 (1995).Page: Previous 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011