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spouse where section 6015 relief was not an issue in the court
litigation. Sec. 6015(g)(2). The requesting spouse shall be
barred from obtaining section 6015 relief, however, if the court
determines that he or she participated meaningfully in the prior
litigation. Id.; see Thurner v. Commissioner, 121 T.C. 43, 51-52
(2003); Vetrano v. Commissioner, 116 T.C. 272, 278 (2001); sec.
1.6015-1(e), Income Tax Regs.
Under section 6015(g)(2), the requesting spouse bears the
burden of proof to show, by a preponderance of the evidence, that
he or she did not meaningfully participate in the prior
litigation. Monsour v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2004-190.
Generally, where a court of competent jurisdiction enters a
final judgment on the merits of a cause of action, the parties in
the prior litigation are bound by every matter that was or that
could have been offered and received to sustain or defeat the
claim. Commissioner v. Sunnen, 333 U.S. 591, 597 (1948).
Section 6015(g)(2), however, modifies this common law doctrine of
res judicata with regard to claims under section 6015 for relief
from joint liability.
Court cases have not yet clearly defined “meaningful
participation” in all respects, although we have indicated that
“merely [complying]” with a spouse’s instructions to sign various
pleadings and other documents filed in prior litigation is not
conclusive of meaningful participation, Thurner v. Commissioner,
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Last modified: May 25, 2011