Bregstone v. United States

4 Cl. Ct. 507, 53 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 723, 1984 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1497
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedFebruary 3, 1984
DocketNo. 381-81T
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 4 Cl. Ct. 507 (Bregstone v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bregstone v. United States, 4 Cl. Ct. 507, 53 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 723, 1984 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1497 (cc 1984).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

MAYER, Judge.

The United States seeks to recover its costs and attorney’s fees in defending against plaintiffs’ claim for a tax refund because of plaintiffs’ bad faith in filing the case and litigating it. Plaintiffs attribute the application for fees and costs to “personal differences in the conduct of litigation” and say they did not know when they filed their complaint or later that there was no basis for their claim.

FACTS

By letter of November 21, 1977, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) notified plaintiffs Edward and Andrea Bregstone of a proposed adjustment increasing their 1975 tax liability because they had received income which was not reported on their tax return. The IRS based its proposed adjustment on Form 1099 information reported by payers of interest and dividends. Attached to the letter was a list of the dividend and interest income not reported, including account numbers, and a summary of the calculations for the proposed adjustment. The IRS asked plaintiffs to compare this information with their records and provide any information that it was incorrect.

Plaintiffs responded by requesting that the IRS provide them with the reports of payments to them. They also suggested the IRS read the advice of the American Electric Power Company (AEP) on the taxable status of its dividend which was among those listed as not identified or fully reported on plaintiffs’ return. The IRS provided a detailed explanation of the calculations for the adjustment which showed the amount of the AEP payment deemed to be unreported dividend income. It explained that it could not furnish copies of the reports requested because the information was submitted to the IRS on computer tapes. Plaintiffs then asked for a personal interview and a “complete list, including evidentiary documentation, of all items” referred to by the IRS.

An interview was scheduled with the local district office, but plaintiffs did not keep the appointment. They then wrote the IRS for another appointment on a specified date, explaining that it was difficult for Mr. Bregstone to obtain leave from his government job. By letter of October 4, 1978, the IRS agreed to reschedule the interview for the date suggested, and advised as follows:

Records furnished to us ... indicate you received income of 399.00 which was not reported on your return. In order for this income not to be taxed to you, it is necessary for you to provide us with statements from the various companies or some other concrete evidence that the accounts are not yours. Otherwise, the amount must be included in income as [509]*509required under Section 81 of the Internal Revenue Code.

On November 2, 1978, two weeks after plaintiffs failed to keep the second appointment, the IRS received another letter from them stating that they had not received any response to their request to reschedule the interview. By letter that same day, the IRS offered to schedule yet another appointment and told plaintiffs the adjustment would be made unless they provided the necessary documentation within 30 days. When the IRS did not receive any information from plaintiffs within that time, it issued a notice of deficiency in the amount of $129.24. This, along with interest and a penalty, was paid by plaintiffs in June of 1979.

Two years later, proceeding pro se, plaintiffs filed a complaint against the United States in the old Court of Claims for $156.98, alleging that they were “entitled to relief as the Commissioner of Internal Revenue has improperly included certain items as income and has otherwise also acted improperly.” Defendant filed an answer in August and mailed three interrogatories to plaintiffs to determine if they had filed a refund claim.

A week later, the judge then assigned to the case inquired about further proceedings. Plaintiffs suggested the judge not issue a pretrial order for three months because they intended to propose to defendant that the case be disposed of by means other than trial. Defendant informed the judge that it had served interrogatories on plaintiffs and wanted to see their answers before fully responding. No answers having been received by December 1, defendant advised plaintiffs by certified mail that it would file a motion to dismiss with prejudice if they did not respond to the interrogatories within 30 days.

On December 28, 1981, plaintiffs filed a request for admissions asking defendant to admit that they had filed a refund claim and that approximately 90% of the tax assessed was for non-taxable distributions made by AEP. Attached to this request were copies of two letters: the October 4, 1978, letter from the IRS rescheduling plaintiffs’ appointment which they had earlier said they did not receive; and a November 16, 1978, letter from plaintiffs asking the IRS to explain how it could tax all of the AEP payment when AEP had informed them that 70.31% of the dividend was nontaxable return of capital.

In early January of 1982, defendant and the judge then assigned to the case received copies of a letter from plaintiffs dated December 9, 1981, saying that they had received defendant’s August interrogatories only the week before, and purporting to respond to those interrogatories. Plaintiffs suggested in the letter that the parties “discuss this case informally as there appear to be no particularly difficult or complicated issues involved.” Enclosed with defendant’s letter was a copy of a purported refund claim, the December 28 request for admissions, and a request for the dividend and interest income reports received by the IRS and “all other relevant documents.”

Unlike plaintiffs, defendant responded to the discovery requests by sworn statement. It admitted that 70.31% of the AEP dividends in question were not taxable, but denied that any part of the assessed deficiency was attributable to the non-taxable dividends. It attached a list of all dividend and interest payments in question which clearly showed that only $132, or 29.69%, of the $446 AEP payment was included as income. Defendant provided copies of all relevant documents contained in the IRS files, except for the Forms 1099 which had been destroyed, and plaintiffs’ 1975 return.

At this point, defendant decided it would be more economical to proceed with the merits of the claim. To assert a defense that a refund claim had not been filed would raise questions of fact requiring a trial. It therefore served plaintiffs by certified mail in March of 1982 with another set of interrogatories about their grounds for claiming a tax refund.

Two weeks later, the court issued an order requiring plaintiffs to file a pretrial submission in late May. The day it was due, plaintiffs moved for an extension of [510]*510time to respond to the pretrial order and for an order directing defendant to produce their 1975 return and “complete copies” of the other IRS documents, including account numbers. Defendant provided a copy of the 1975 return which it had not previously sent on the assumption that plaintiffs already had a copy, but it opposed the motion to compel because it had already provided copies of all other documents. It also opposed the request for an enlargement of time to respond to the pretrial order because plaintiffs’ submission was required to include some of the same information requested by defendant in its March interrogatories, to which plaintiffs had not responded.

The same day it filed its opposition to plaintiffs’ motions, defendant moved to compel plaintiffs to answer the March interrogatories.

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Bluebook (online)
4 Cl. Ct. 507, 53 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 723, 1984 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1497, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bregstone-v-united-states-cc-1984.