avowal
Avowal is a declaration made by an attorney during the trial process.
wex
evidentiary hearing
Cullen v. Pinholster
Oral argument: Nov. 9, 2010
Appealed from: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Dec. 9, 2009)
Edited by
United States v. Clarke
Issues
Should a court grant an evidentiary hearing to a party summoned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), where the party alleges that the summons was issued for an improper purpose and seeks to question IRS officials about the reasons for issuing the summons?
The IRS investigated the tax returns of Dynamo Holdings Limited Partnership, and in 2010, notified the partnership of deficiencies in its tax returns. The IRS issued summonses to third parties associated with DHLP, including the chief financial officer of the partnership, Respondent Michael Clarke. None of the parties responded to the summonses. DHLP challenged the IRS’s determination in tax court, and in April 2011, the IRS sought enforcement of the unanswered summonses in federal district court. DHLP and Clarke argued that the summonses failed to properly serve an investigative purpose and that the IRS issued them with retaliatory motives. The United States argues that the summonses should be enforced without an evidentiary hearing because the IRS has broad authority to issue summonses, and the evidence fails to show that the IRS had issued the summonses for an improper purpose. Clarke argues that he is entitled to an evidentiary hearing because he sufficiently alleged and demonstrated evidence to show that the IRS issued the summonses to gain an unfair litigation advantage, which is an abuse of the IRS’s power to issue summonses.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
Whether an unsupported allegation that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a summons for an improper purpose entitles an opponent of the summons to an evidentiary hearing to question IRS officials about their reasons for issuing the summons.
Facts
This case centers on whether a party accusing the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) of issuing a summons for an improper purpose is entitled to an evidentiary hearing. See Petition For A Writ of Certiorari at I.
Edited by
Acknowledgments
- Brian R. Harris & David J. Rosen, Lexology: Supreme Court to decide when taxpayers can obtain an evidentiary hearing in a summons enforcement action, (Jan. 22, 2014)
- Drew Singer, Law360: High Court Takes Appeal Over IRS Summons, (Jan. 10, 2014)
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