Judge Courtney D (“CD”) Jones was much moved by the plight of Julian Wolpert and Estate of Eileen Wolpert, Deceased, Julian Wolpert, Executor, T. C. Memo. 2022-70, filed 7/7/22. Y’all will no doubt remember IRS counsels’ attempts to wild-card the “goofy regulation” into an indocumentado Section 162 deductions case, and an equally far-fetched endeavor to claim The Calculation Electronic duck of Boss Hossery.

What, no? Then see my blogpost “If At First You Don’t Succeed, Don’t Make It Worse,” 3/16/22.

Julian urged that trial must proceed speedily, because his trusty attorney’s equally trusty law student clinicians were about to scatter for summer vacation (or maybe white-shoe summer internships).

Well, student aid avails one little, if for substantiation one has only the Michael Corleone gambit. It seems one of Julian’s nearest and dearest, shortly after the decease of the late Eileen, inadvertently tossed the business records that could have saved part of the day.

“Notwithstanding Mr. Wolpert and the estate’s vague representations on brief that Ms. Narli inadvertently threw out business records stored in the Wolperts’ Honesdale residence following Mrs. Wolpert’s death, there is no evidentiary basis in the record (including Ms. Narli’s testimony) supporting such an allegation.” T. C. Memo. 2022-70, at p. 16. (Footnote omitted, but see infra, as my expensive colleagues would say).

“Mr. Wolpert and the estate did not specify when this incident allegedly took place. If the business records were thrown out in mid-2016, such an incident should have had no impact on business records generated after that date (including all of 2017).” T. C. Memo. 2022-70, at p. 16, footnote 32.

A couple times (hi, Judge Holmes) Judge CD Jones notes there isn’t even an attempt to Cohanize whatever isn’t sunk by Section 274 specificity.

In the interests of full disclosure, I note that one of the trusty student aides from Prof. Maresca’s Fordham Law School’s clinic spent a summer interning at a law firm with which I share office space. I was unaware of her involvement in this case until I read the opinion today.