I hardly think the above will serve as the title for a successful CLE, but IRS’ trusty counsel is showing us the way in North Donald LA Property, LLC, North Donald LA Investors, LLC, Tax Matters Partner, Docket No. 24703-21, filed 9/6/24.

Trial Session One is set for this coming Monday, 9/9/24, before Judge Albert G. (“Scholar Al”) Lauber. Of course, Judge Scholar Al put out a scheduling order for the trial, with a cutoff date for pretrial memoranda, wherein witness lists were to be exchanged.

Less than three (count ’em, three) weeks before trial, IRS serves a subpoena on nonparty RESPEC, which moves to quash. The subpoena calls for a “company representative” to testify about RESPEC’s mining generally, its work for the LA Donalds, and its former employee who prepared a feasibility study for LA Donald’s Dixieland boondockery. Said employee is already on the witness list.

RESPEC never made the witness list of either party.

But wait, there’s more.

Judge Scholar Al already quashed a subpoena duces tecum, which called for similar information.

“The subpoena requests information from a ‘corporate representative’ about RESPEC’s work for North Donald. But it was Mr. L who prepared the feasibility study that North Donald hired RESPEC to complete, and it would seem obvious that he is much better positioned than a ‘corporate representative’ to shed light on RESPEC’s work for North Donald. The subpoena also requests that a RESPEC representative be prepared to testify about the company’s experience in clay mining and mining generally. That information strikes us as irrelevant—what work other RESPEC employees may have performed on other projects or for other clients sheds no light on the specific clay feasibility report that Mr. Laporte prepared for North Donald in or around 2017.” Order, at p. 2. (Name omitted).

The subpoena is burdensome, untimely (no showing of good cause to ignore the deadline), requests information already denied…That’s how to get your subpoena quashed.