Annamalai v. CIR

by
Under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 13, the statutory 90-day window to appeal a Tax Court decision to this court runs from either: 1) the entry of the Tax Court decision being appealed or 2) if a party moves to vacate or revise the Tax Court's decision, from the entry of the Tax Court's ruling on that motion to vacate or revise the decision. At issue was whether a party may file successive motions to vacate or revise with the effect of extending the time to appeal into perpetuity. The Fifth Circuit held that successive motions to vacate or revise a Tax Court decision, raising substantially the same grounds as the first motion, will not affect the time period in which a party may appeal a Tax Court decision. The court explained that, where successive post-decision motions are filed in the Tax Court, the statutory 90-day window to appeal the Tax Court decision runs from the Tax Court's ruling on the first motion to vacate or revise filed. In this case, the court dismissed the appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction because the notice was filed more than 90 days after the Tax Court disposed of the first motion to vacate. View "Annamalai v. CIR" on Justia Law