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however, reduced the Thompsons’ deficiencies for the years at
issue from the originally determined $79,294 to $30,000--a
reduction of 62.17 percent. The new agreement substantially
deviated from respondent’s official settlement policy and from
the 20-percent reduction settlements obtained by DeCastro and
Chicoine and Hallett and other attorneys on behalf of other
clients. None of Sims’s or McWade’s superiors approved the new
agreement. To the contrary, Sims’s and McWade’s superiors did
not discover the new agreement until after this Court had tried
the test cases, issued its opinion, and entered its initial
decisions therein.
G. Trial and Entry of Decisions
The trial of the test cases was conducted before Judge Goffe
from January 9 through January 27, 1989, at Honolulu, Hawaii.
Neither Sims, McWade, nor DeCastro informed Judge Goffe, the
National Office, the Regional Office, or Izen of the Thompson
settlement or the Cravens settlement before or during the January
1989 trial of the test cases, or thereafter.
The Government paid the travel, food, and lodging expenses
of Mr. Cravens and Mr. Thompson while they were in Hawaii. Mr.
Thompson’s reimbursed expenses amounted to $1,105.13. We stated
in Dixon III, n.53: “Inasmuch as respondent subpoenaed all the
test case petitioners, it is assumed they were all reimbursed for
their expenses.” Although there is no evidence in the record
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