Estate of Charles A. Lippitz, Deceased, Michael Lippitz, Administrator and Rhita S. Lippitz - Page 18




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          her liability of $100 for each of the taxable years at issue.               
          Respondent did not respond to petitioner’s offer.  Later, after             
          receiving the recommendation of respondent’s CCISO office that              
          she was entitled to innocent spouse relief, petitioner again                
          submitted a settlement offer to respondent.  This time,                     
          petitioner offered to settle the case for full relief from the              
          asserted liabilities under section 6015(c).  In the same letter,            
          petitioner informed respondent that in the absence of an                    
          agreement resolving the matter, she intended to move for summary            
          judgment.  Respondent did not accept petitioner’s offer.                    
          Instead, respondent offered to settle the matter if the agreement           
          included a statement by petitioner that she had no interest in              
          the assets of the trusts.                                                   
               True to her word, in the absence of respondent’s accepting             
          her offer, petitioner filed a motion for partial summary                    
          judgment.  On the day after respondent was to file a response to            
          petitioner’s motion, respondent instead filed a motion for                  
          additional time in which he expressed his intent to concede.  In            
          the light of petitioner’s multiple offers to settle and eventual            
          dispositive motion, we find respondent’s concession occurred too            
          late to be treated as a settlement.                                         
               This is not to say that in all cases a concession could not            
          be a settlement.  We can imagine scenarios where a concession               
          would be difficult to differentiate from an agreement to settle.            







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