- 61 -
As directed by the Court of Appeals in DuFresne, Judge Beghe
conducted the evidentiary hearing at special trial sessions of
the Court in Los Angeles, California, from May 13-30 and
June 10-26, 1996, and August 18, 1997. On March 30, 1999, on the
basis of the record developed at the evidentiary hearing, the
Court issued its supplemental opinion in Dixon v. Commissioner,
T.C. Memo. 1999-101 (Dixon III). The Court held that the
misconduct of the Government attorneys in the trial of the test
cases did not, in the words of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit in DuFresne, constitute a “structural defect” in the
trial, but rather resulted in “harmless error”. However, the
Court imposed sanctions against respondent, holding that Kersting
program participants who had not had final decisions entered in
their cases would be relieved of liability for (1) the interest
component of the addition to tax for negligence under section
6653(a)(1)(B) and (2), and (2) the incremental interest
attributable to the increased rate prescribed in section 6621(c).
26(...continued)
O’Donnell's motion to sever the Booth case from the cases
consolidated for the evidentiary hearing. O’Donnell argued that,
in light of the theory underlying a motion for summary judgment
that he had filed on behalf of the Booths, they had no need to
participate in the evidentiary hearing. In Gridley v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1997-210, the Court denied O’Donnell’s
motions for entry of decision consistent with the final Thompson
settlement.
Page: Previous 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011