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Happy Holidays Thanks to Graev III

Posted on Dec. 22, 2017

As discussed in our previous post, the Tax Court in Graev III has reversed the position it adopted in November, 2016 and agreed with the Second Circuit’s decision in Chai v. Commissioner, 851 F.3d 190 (2nd Cir. 2017). That reversal had immediate consequences for four cases that Judge Holmes was holding in his inventory. On December 20, 2017, the same day the Court issued Chai, Judge Holmes issued designated orders in four cases in his inventory that had pending issues regarding penalties. In each of the four cases, he turned back an IRS request to reopen the record to allow it to put in evidence of compliance with IRC 6751(b). This amounted to a loss by the IRS on its attempt to impose a penalty on each of the taxpayers in question. These cases will go to circuits other than the Second Circuit giving the IRS the opportunity to try to overturn Chai and create a conflict among the circuits.

The four case are Estate of Michael Jackson (a relatively well known singer); Warren Sapp (a NFL Hall of Famer) and his ex-wife Jamiko together with consolidate case petitioners, Kumar Rajagopalan & Susamma Kumar, et al ; Kevin Sells and Oakbrook Land Holdings. The cases present similar but not completely identical fact patterns. The cases have quite old docket numbers and the parties had already had extensive opportunity to present matters to the Court.

Judge Holmes was not the only judge holding cases; he was just the quickest to release the cases he held due to the pending decision in Graev III. On December 21, Judge Buch issued four designated orders and Judge Paris issued a non-designated order. There could be more to come as it is clear the IRS has been moving to reopen the record to put in information required by IRC 6751(b) and judges have held up cases waiting for the publication of Graev III. Other judges may have similar motions in their inventory of undecided cases and the orders from these three judges may just signal more orders to come perhaps as holiday season ends.

The Estate of Michael Jackson case was tried in February, 2017. Judge Holmes mentions that:

“… no one tried to introduce evidence about whether the Commissioner met his burden of production under I.R.C. § 6751(b)(1) to show that “the initial determination of such assessment [i.e., of the penalties] [wa]s personally approved (in writing) by the immediate supervisor of the individual making such determination.”

In July of 2017 the IRS saw problems with 6751(b) coming on the horizon. It had filed the motion for reconsideration in Graev that led to Graev III. It filed a motion in the Jackson Estate case, appealable to the 9th Circuit, seeking to reopen the record so that it could place into the record the evidence of compliance with the penalty approval process required by 6751(b). It had not attempted to do so during the trial. That motion sat because, no doubt, Judge Holmes knew that the Court was in the process of reconsidering Graev, and he did not want to rule until he knew where the Tax Court was headed.

Judge Holmes denied the motion filed by the IRS to reopen the record and allow it to place into evidence information regarding the approval of the penalty it asserted against the estate for either the gross valuation misstatement or accuracy related penalty – a 40 or 20% add on to any deficiency the Court might determine. A nice holiday gift for the estate.

He quoted from his concurring opinion in Graev III where he adopted language from a Justice Scalia concurrence as he warned of the consequences of the decision:

In our concurring opinion in Graev III, this division of the Court warned that ‘”[l]ike some ghoul in a late-night horror movie that repeatedly sits up in its grave and shuffles abroad,’ [this construction of I.R.C. § 6751] will serve only to frighten little children and IRS lawyers.”

The Jackson Estate made clear after the Graev case brought to light a new way to challenge the assertion of penalties that it intended to put 6751(b) at issue but the IRS waited before filing its motion until after the trial and during the trial it did not put on the evidence of compliance with the statute. The trial itself occurred before the Second Circuit’s decision in Chai. The IRS position in Chai was that it did not have to present this type of evidence. Now, at least at the Tax Court level, it pays a price for not hedging its bets.

The outcomes in the other three designated orders issued by Judge Holmes follow a similar path. Those three cases all were tried in Birmingham Alabama and have an appellate path that leads to the 11th Circuit. The parties in those cases claimed conservation easements, the same claim made by the Graevs. Judge Holmes recounts the facts in each of the cases and the knowledge and opportunity for the IRS to put into the record the evidence of compliance during the trial concluding again by denying the request of the IRS to reopen the record after trial to put into the record the evidence of compliance with IRC 6751.

Judges Buch and Paris did not go as far as Judge Holmes in the orders that they issued. The four orders issued by Judge Buch include Hendrickson, Sherman, Triumph Mixed Use Investments, and Dynamo Holdings Ltd Partnership. Judge Buch gives a nice history of the 6751(b) litigation and how it relates to each of the cases. The quote below is taken from the Dynamo case. In the order he then invites the parties to respond to the latest developments rather than issuing a dispositive order at this time. Some attorneys at Chief Counsel with use or lose leave may be working at a time they expected to be on leave:

The question before us is how Graev III might affect this case. In this regard, a timeline may be helpful.

-Section 6751 enacted (July 22, 1998)

-Section 6751 effective (notices issued after December 31, 2000)

-Chai v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2015-42 (March 11, 2015)

-Legg v. Commissioner, 145 T.C. 344 (December 7, 2015)

-Graev v. Commissioner, 146 T. C. No. 16 (November 30, 2016)

-Dynamo v. Commissioner, Dkt. No. 2685-11, Trial Held (January 23, 2017, to February 3, 2017)

-Chai v. Commissioner, 851 F.3d 190 (2nd Cir. March 20, 2017)

-Dynamo v. Commissioner, Dkt. No. 2685-11, Briefing Completed (July 3, 2017)

-Graev v. Commissioner, 149 T.C. No. 23 (December 20, 2017)….

To assist the Court in addressing this issue, it is

ORDERED that respondent shall file a response to this Order by January 5, 2018 addressing the effect of section 6751(b) on this case and directing the Court to any evidence of section 6751(b) supervisory approval that is in the record of this case.

It is further

ORDERED that petitioners may file a response to this Order by January 12, 2018 addressing the effect of section 6751(b) on this case.

It is further

ORDERED that any motion addressing the application of section 6751(b) on this case shall be filed by January 19, 2018. The parties are reminded that any such “motion shall show that prior notice thereof has been given to each other party or counsel for each other party and shall state whether there is any objection to the motion.”

Judge Paris follows the lead of Judge Buch, including the helpful timeline, and does not issue a dispositive order. In Blossom Day Care Centers, a case tried about 18 months ago, she issues the following order:

To assist the Court in addressing this issue, it is

ORDERED that, on or before January 12, 2018, petitioners shall file a Sur- Reply to respondent’s Reply to Response to Motion to Reopen the Record.

It is further

ORDERED that the Simultaneous Answering Briefs are extended to January 3, 2018

Conclusion

The Court and the parties will be busy dealing with the aftermath of the most recent decision in Graev and this may keep the Tax Court and the circuit courts busy for some years to come. Interesting how a little noticed, poorly drafted provision can create so much havoc almost two decades after enactment. Les wonders whether dealing with the poor draftsmanship in 6751 may give the Tax Court practice in addressing issues raised by the hastily drafted legislation that passed earlier this week.

Carl Smith points out another open question as the 6751(b) issue moves forward, viz., does the petitioner need to affirmatively raise penalties in their petitions now or are penalties always at issue:

Will some judges still say that since lack of 6751(b) compliance was not mentioned by the taxpayer (and it never will be by a pro se taxpayer), the court won’t consider the issue.  My hunch is that is no longer good law.  But, also remember that there is still on the books Tax Court opinions holding that where the taxpayer fails to state a claim with respect to a penalty or addition to tax in the pleadings, the Commissioner incurs no obligation to produce evidence in support of the individual’s liability pursuant to section 7491(c), see Funk v. Commissioner, 123 T.C. 213, 216-218 (2004); Swain v. Commissioner, 118 T.C. 358, 364-365 (2002).

Carl points out other issues in a comment he made to the prior post on Graev III for those seeking additional insight.  In the season of giving, Graev III will be giving us additional opinions, and possibly nightmares, for the foreseeable future.

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