Rutana v. Commissioner
United States Tax Court
Ps moved for an award of litigation costs after we decided for Ps in Rutana v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1986-336, the sole issue of which was whether Ps fraudulently intended to evade tax. R's counsel should have known that the facts available to R at trial could not clearly and convincingly establish fraud. R's counsel disregarded Ps' explanations as self-serving but had no supportable basis for believing Ps to be untruthful.
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Ps moved for an award of litigation costs after we decided for Ps in Rutana v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1986-336, the sole issue of which was whether Ps fraudulently intended to evade tax. R's counsel should have known that the facts available to R at trial could not clearly and convincingly establish fraud. R's counsel disregarded Ps' explanations as self-serving but had no supportable basis for believing Ps to be untruthful. Held, R did not have a reasonable basis in law or fact for believing that he could prove that Ps acted with intent to evade tax, Wyandotte Savings Bank v. N.L.R.B., 682…
1Opinion of the Court
OPINION
WILLIAMS, Judge:
This case is before us on petitioners’ motion for award of litigation costs pursuant to section 7430.1 The issues we must decide are (1) whether the position of the United States in the litigation against petitioners was unreasonable within the meaning of section 7430(c)(2)(A)(i); and (2) if so, the amount of litigation costs to be awarded.
Respondent determined deficiencies in petitioners’ Federal income tax and additions to tax for fraud pursuant to section 6653(b) for the taxable years 1975 and 1976. Petitioners paid the deficiency for 1976. They agreed that the…
2Cases cited19 opinions
- Hensley v. EckerhartSupreme Court of the United States · 1983
- Johnson v. Georgia Highway Express, Inc.Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 1974
- Jack E. Golsen and Sylvia H. Golsen v. Commissioner of Internal RevenueCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · 1971
- Otsuki v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1969
- Northcross v. Board of EducationCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 1979
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3Cited by67 opinions
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- Coastal Petroleum Refiners, Inc. v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1990
- MAGGIE MGMT. CO. v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUEUnited States Tax Court · 1997
- VanderPol v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1988
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