Opinion ID: 538936
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the sanctions imposed by the tax court

Text: 15 Rule 104 of the Tax Court Rules governs sanctions for failure to comply with an order requiring the production of documents. Under Rule 104(c), the imposition of sanctions is discretionary with the trial court and will only be reviewed for an abuse of that discretion. See Aruba Bonaire Curacao Trust Co. v. Commissioner, 777 F.2d 38, 44 (D.C.Cir.1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1086, 106 S.Ct. 1469, 89 L.Ed.2d 725 (1986); see also e.g., Steinbrecher v. Commissioner, 712 F.2d 195, 197 (5th Cir.1983) (per curiam); Oelze v. Commissioner, 723 F.2d 1162, 1163-64 (5th Cir.) (per curiam), reh'g denied, 726 F.2d 165 (1983). We are also guided by Rule 37 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which is analogous to Rule 104. See Aruba Bonaire Curacao Trust Co. v. Commissioner, 777 F.2d 38, 44 (D.C.Cir.1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1086, 106 S.Ct. 1469, 89 L.Ed.2d 725 (1986). 16 In following the above law, we find that the Tax Court did not abuse its discretion in imposing discovery sanctions. The appellant did not produce the requested documents and the court's sanction precluding the appellant from introducing such documents into evidence at trial was clearly appropriate under the circumstances. The appellant's assertion that the I.R.S. had the documents and he did not have access to the requested documents is no defense. The appellant could have taken other steps to have the requested documents produced, such as issuing a subpoena to the I.R.S. Therefore, the Tax Court acted within its discretion in imposing sanctions. 17