A short while ago I was pointing out how IRS’ boilerplate summary J motions for Boss Hossery didn’t always work. Well, just now Park Lake II, LLC, Park Lake Partners, LLC, Tax Matters Partner, T. C. Memo. 2025-11, filed 1/30/25, tells the old story: the exception proves the cliché.

While Judge Albert G. (“Scholar Al”) doesn’t tell us if the Park Lakers interposed good faith reliance as a defense to the chops, the Park Lakers’ trusty attorneys, led by the routable Vivian D. (“Golden”) Hoard, would not overlook any valid argument.

So IRS comes out swinging, with every RA, supe, team manager, territory manager, Senior Counsel, Associate Area Counsel, documenting time, activity, transmission, receipt of every communication.

But the Golden Hoard is nowise dismayed at this Constitution Avenue Charge of the Heavy Brigade. “Petitioner struggles mightily, but in vain, to gin up a dispute of material fact.” T. C. Memo. 2025-11, at p. 4.

No, there’s no Service-wide mandate to chop every Dixieland Boondockery with excessive over(under) valuation chops. The RA decided on her own after consulting team manager. Taishoff says once a deal type appears on the bad boys’ list, no need for a policy statement, there’s a target on the back and front of every one of them.

A preliminary “let’s think about chops” memo isn’t a determination, which must be “an action ‘with a high degree of concreteness and formality.'” T. C. Memo. 2025-11, at p. 5, citing Belair. But the entire idea behind Section 6751(b) was to prevent low-level examiners from bludgeoning settlements out of terrified taxpayers with meritorious claims by threats of chops; what price “concreteness and formality”?

And of course there’s no sense fighting about IRS’ paperwork and electronicity, as they’ve documented everything. Vivian keeps probing, but to no avail.

I have to think when IRS gets one of these syndicated conservation easement deals, the full-court-press immediately follows.