T.C. Memo. 1996-292
UNITED STATES TAX COURT
GALEN J. SMITH, Petitioner v.
COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
Docket No. 8945-95. Filed June 24, 1996.
Galen J. Smith, pro se.
Pamelya P. Herndon, for respondent.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
LARO, Judge: This case is before the Court on respondent's
motion for continuance of trial pursuant to Rule 1341 and
petitioner's motion for partial summary judgment under Rule 121.
This case was originally set for trial on April 22, 1996, in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. Ten days before trial, respondent
issued a statutory notice of deficiency to petitioner's former
spouse. At the calendar call, respondent moved the Court to
1
Unless otherwise indicated, all section references are to
the Internal Revenue Code in effect during the years at issue,
all Rule references are to the Tax Court Rules of Practice and
Procedure.
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continue this case from the calendar and return it to the general
docket. Respondent seeks additional time to allow petitioner's
former spouse time to file a petition and eventually join these
proceedings. Petitioner has opposed respondent's motion and now
moves for partial summary judgment in his favor.
Petitioner argues that respondent is estopped from
determining a deficiency against him due to her determination of
a deficiency against his former spouse for the same tax
liability. Petitioner contends that respondent, by her action of
determining a deficiency and issuing a notice of same to his
former spouse, has made an admission against interest as to who
is to bear the tax liability for various distributions made to
petitioner from his former spouse's qualified pension and
retirement plans. Petitioner maintains that respondent may not
take inconsistent positions against two taxpayers in separate
notices of deficiency with respect a single tax liability because
to do so necessarily undermines the factual basis upon which her
determinations are premised. Thus, petitioner claims that he is
entitled to summary adjudication in his favor because, as a
matter of law, there exists no issue of material fact with
respect to his tax liability arising from the distributions from
his former spouse's tax qualified plans by reason of respondent's
determination of a deficiency against his former spouse for the
same tax liability. Respondent objects to petitioner's motion,
and asserts that she may take an alternative, though
inconsistent, position against a second taxpayer in a separate
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notice of deficiency for the same tax liability. We agree with
respondent for the reasons set forth below, and shall grant
respondent's motion for continuance and deny petitioner's motion
for partial summary judgment.
Background2
Petitioner married Blythe Schroeder (Ms. Schroeder) on
June 13, 1981. Ms. Schroeder filed for divorce on May 2, 1988,
and the divorce was finalized on April 12, 1989. Contemporaneous
with this divorce decree, the State trial court issued a domestic
relations order concerning the division of Ms. Schroeder's
pension and retirement benefits. This domestic relations order
purports to meet the requirements of section 414(p) as a
qualified domestic relations order (QDRO). The State court
issued an additional such order with respect to Ms. Schroeder's
401(k) plan on May 12, 1989. Petitioner has challenged in both
State and Federal court the validity of the divorce decree,
arguing that the divorce decree is void for want of due process.
During 1992, the year in issue, Aetna Life & Casualty
(Aetna), issued petitioner a check for $9,395 from
Ms. Schroeder's section 403(b) tax shelter annuity (TSA). Aetna
also disbursed $4,937 to petitioner from Ms. Schroeder's Aetna
individual retirement account. Petitioner also received a check
2
The facts presented below do not appear to be in dispute,
and are stated solely for the purposes of deciding the pending
motions, and are not findings of fact for this case. Fed. R.
Civ. P. 52(a); Sundstrand Corp. v. Commissioner, 98 T.C. 518, 520
(1992), affd. 17 F.3d 965 (7th Cir. 1994).
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from SunWest Bank of Albuquerque for $14,790 from Ms. Schroeder's
401(k) plan. At the time petitioner received these
distributions, petitioner had not attained age 59-1/2.
Petitioner did not roll these distributions over to another tax
qualified plan within the time period specified in sections
402(c), 403(a)(4), or 408(d)(3). Petitioner did not file an
Income Tax Return for the year in issue on or before the due
date. Respondent determined a deficiency in petitioner's Federal
income tax for the taxable year 1992 in the amount of $8,016,
together with additions to tax under section 6651(a) in the
amount of $2,004 and $349 under section 6654(a). In his
petition, petitioner challenges the validity of the QDROs and his
tax liability for the subject distributions.
Analysis
A. Motion for Continuance
Distributions from qualified plans are generally taxed to
the distributee in the year distributed. Sec. 402(a)(1). The
term "distributee" as used in section 402(a)(1), is generally
accepted to be the participant or beneficiary who, under the
plan, is entitled to receive the distribution.3 Sec. 402(a)(1);
Darby v. Commissioner, 97 T.C. 51, 58 (1991). An exception to
this general rule is provided in section 402(a)(9). Under
section 402(a)(9) distributions made to an alternate payee, i.e.,
a spouse or former spouse of a plan participant, pursuant to a
3
Neither the Internal Revenue Code nor the regulations
define the term "distributee" as used in section 402(a)(1).
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QDRO, are not taxable to the plan participant, but are instead,
taxable to the former spouse/alternate payee as if he or she were
the plan participant.4 Conversely, a domestic relations order
that fails to satisfy the requirements of section 414(p) is not a
QDRO, and, consequently, the exception provided in section
402(a)(9) is inapplicable to such orders. In such a situation,
any distribution made from the plan will be taxable to the plan
participant under section 402(a)(1).
In the instant case, respondent finds herself in a
precarious position, between two former spouses of whom one is a
party to this litigation, the other is not. The question in
dispute is which of the former spouses ultimately will be liable
for the tax attributable to the subject distributions. The
eventual resolution of the QDRO issue will determine whether
4
Sec. 401(a)(13)(A) was added by the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), Pub. L. 93-406, sec.
1021(c), 88 Stat. 829, 935, to require tax-qualified plans to
provide "that benefits provided under the plan may not be
assigned or alienated". ERISA, sec. 514(a), 29 U.S.C. sec.
1144(a) (1988), provides that the labor title of ERISA preempts
State law. Consequently, after the enactment of ERISA, it was
unclear whether this preemption provision applied to prohibit the
attachment or assignment of pension plan benefits under State
community property and family support laws. Congress enacted the
Retirement Equity Act of 1984 (REA), Pub. L. 98-397, 98 Stat.
1426, to clarify the application of ERISA antialienation
provisions to State family support laws and community property
laws. See S. Rept. 98-575, at 19 (1984), 1984-2 C.B. 447, 456.
REA provided new rules for the treatment of certain domestic
relations orders, requiring the distribution of all or part of a
participant's benefits under a qualified plan to an alternate
payee. Sec. 204(b) of REA, 98 Stat. 1445, added sec. 414(p),
which defines a QDRO. Sec. 401(a)(13)(B) provides that the
creation, recognition, or assignment of an alternate payee's
right to plan benefits under a QDRO does not violate the
antialienation provisions of ERISA and sec. 401(a)(13)(A).
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petitioner or his former spouse is responsible for the resulting
income tax liability. Respondent has not taken a position as to
whether the subject marital property settlements satisfy the
requirements of section 414(p). Instead, respondent merely seeks
additional time to allow Ms. Schroeder to file a petition in
response to the notice of deficiency issued to her. Respondent's
ultimate goal is to join Ms. Schroeder as a party to these
proceedings. Respondent has represented to us that Ms. Schroeder
is expected to file a petition in response to the notice of
deficiency issued to her, and that a motion to consolidate will
be filed shortly thereafter.
Rule 134 permits us to grant a continuance where a motion
for same is timely, sets forth good and sufficient cause, and
complies with all applicable rules. Generally we disfavor
postponing trials once a case has been set on calendar; however,
we have broad discretion in handling motions for continuance.
Manzoli v. Commissioner, 904 F.2d 101, 106 (1st Cir. 1990), affg.
T.C. Memo. 1988-299; Estate of Van Loben Sels v. Commissioner,
82 T.C. 64 (1984).
Respondent argues, and we agree, that a continuance is
necessary in this case, to conserve the Court's resources and
avoid any undue hindrance in the resolution of the issues
presented. Respondent urges us to grant a continuance in this
case so as to avoid multiple trials concerning the same
transaction and the possible risk of inconsistent determinations
as to the validity of the subject QDROs at issue herein.
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Respondent argues that by continuing this case and eventually
joining the two taxpayers, we shall be able to make a
determination in one proceeding as to who should bear the tax
burden resulting from the subject distributions. We shall grant
respondent's motion for continuance of trial.
B. Motion For Partial Summary Judgment
1. Standard of review
Summary judgment is intended to expedite litigation and
avoid unnecessary and expensive trials of phantom factual issues.
Kroh v. Commissioner, 98 T.C. 383, 390 (1992); Florida Peach
Corp. v. Commissioner, 90 T.C. 678, 681 (1988). Summary judgment
may be granted with respect to all or any part of the legal
issues in controversy "if the pleadings, answers to
interrogatories, depositions, admissions, and any other
acceptable materials, together with the affidavits, if any, show
that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that a
decision may be rendered as a matter of law." Rule 121(b);
Sundstrand Corp. v. Commissioner, 98 T.C. 518, 520 (1992), affd.
17 F.3d 965 (7th Cir. 1994); Zaentz v. Commissioner, 90 T.C. 753,
754 (1988). Because summary judgment decides an issue against a
party before trial, we grant such a remedy sparingly, and only
after carefully ascertaining that the moving party has met all of
the requirements entitling him to summary judgment. Associated
Press v. United States, 326 U.S. 1, 6 (1945); Espinoza v.
Commissioner, 78 T.C. 412, 416 (1982).
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The Court will not resolve disagreements over material
factual issues in a summary judgment proceeding. Espinoza v.
Commissioner, supra at 416. The moving party bears the burden of
proving that there is no genuine issue of material fact, and
factual inferences will be read in a manner most favorable to the
non-moving party. Kroh v. Commissioner, supra at 390;
Dahlstrom v. Commissioner, 85 T.C. 812, 821 (1985).
2. Separate notices of deficiency
Respondent determined that petitioner owes an income tax
deficiency arising from the distributions from his former
spouse's qualified retirement and pension plans. In the
alternative, and in a separate notice of deficiency, respondent
determined that petitioner's former spouse is liable for an
income tax deficiency attributable to the same distributions.
Deficiency determinations asserted by respondent in a statutory
notice of deficiency are presumed correct, Welch v. Helvering,
290 U.S. 111, 115 (1933). It is immaterial whether the
alternative claims were contained in a single notice of
deficiency or in separate notices. Doggett v. Commissioner,
66 T.C. 101, 103 (1976). The fact that respondent has made a
separate determination of tax against each of the former spouses
for the same tax liability does not negate the presumption of
correctness as to either notice. Clapp v. Commissioner, 875 F.2d
1396, 1401 (9th Cir. 1989); Malat v. Commissioner, 302 F.2d 700,
704 (9th Cir. 1962), affg. 34 T.C. 365 (1960); Revell, Inc. v.
Riddell, 273 F.2d 649 (9th Cir. 1959).
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It is well established that respondent may assert
alternative claims for deficiencies when there is a basis for
doing so. Wiles v. Commissioner, 499 F.2d 255, 259 (10th Cir.
1974), affg. 60 T.C. 56 (1973); Estate of Goodall v.
Commissioner, 391 F.2d 775, 781-784 (8th Cir. 1968), vacating
T.C. Memo. 1965-154; Malat v. Commissioner, supra at 706;
Revell, Inc. v. Riddell, supra at 658-660; Doggett v.
Commissioner, supra at 103; L.C. Bohart Plumbing & Heating, Co.
v. Commissioner, 64 T.C. 602, 615-616 (1975); Hoeme v.
Commissioner, 63 T.C. 18, 20-21 (1974). For example, respondent
may claim, in separate notices, that the same income was received
by different taxpayers. See Doggett v. Commissioner, supra at
103.
We have previously recognized that, in those instances where
it is undisputed that one of two taxpayers is liable for the tax
arising out of a single transaction, "[respondent] is not bound
to proceed against only one party at the peril of an unfavorable
decision and the possible inability to * * * pursue the other
[thereafter]". L.C. Bohart Plumbing & Heating, Co. v.
Commissioner, supra at 615. In this instance it is appropriate
for respondent to proceed against both petitioner and, in the
alternative, his former spouse for the tax liability arising out
of the same transaction, even though the positions taken by
respondent may be inconsistent. See, e.g., Wiles v.
Commissioner, supra at 259; L.C. Bohart Plumbing & Heating, Co.
v. Commissioner, supra at 615-616. In such a situation
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respondent is essentially placed in the posture of a stakeholder
in trying to protect the revenue by resolving the question as to
which party is ultimately responsible for the tax liability. See
Estate of Goodall v. Commissioner, supra at 781, 784; L.C. Bohart
Plumbing & Heating, Co. v. Commissioner, supra at 616.
Conclusion
Material facts remain in dispute as to whether the subject
distributions were made pursuant to valid QRDOs. We shall deny
petitioner's motion for partial summary judgment.
We have considered all of petitioner's arguments for a
contrary holding and, to the extent not addressed above, have
found them to be without merit.
To reflect the foregoing,
An appropriate order will
be issued granting
respondent's motion for
continuance of trial and
denying petitioner's motion
for partial summary judgment.