Free Status Report - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:05-cv-00296-FMA

Document 83

Filed 12/06/2007

Page 1 of 2

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS GRAPEVINE IMPORTS, LTD., and T-TECH, INC., as Tax Matters Partner Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Defendant. ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

No. 05-296T (Judge Allegra)

JOINT STATUS REPORT The United States has finished reviewing the plaintiffs' settlement offer, but it has asked the plaintiffs for clarification of the offer before making a final decision. Counsel for the United States prepared a memo detailing this case's facts and analyzing how the applicable legal principles apply to those facts. Executives within the Department of Justice and IRS have finished reviewing that memo. Before making a final decision, however, the United States has asked the plaintiffs to provide a draft of the stipulation or other document that would be filed with the court if the settlement is accepted. The United States would like to clarify the terms and form of that filing before making a final decision. The plaintiffs have agreed to provide the draft and are in the process of preparing it. Because this case involves a transaction that the Internal Revenue Service considers to be a tax shelter, and one which is involved in a number of other pending cases, the review process is more protracted than usual. The United States will finish its review as soon as possible.

Case 1:05-cv-00296-FMA

Document 83

Filed 12/06/2007

Page 2 of 2

Respectfully Submitted,

/s/ Christopher R. Egan for GROVER HARTT, III Attorney of Record Tax Division U.S. Department of Justice 717 N. Hardwood, Suite 400 Dallas, Texas 75201 (214) 880-9721 (Main) (214) 880-9741 (Fax) [email protected] RICHARD T. MORRISON Acting Asst. Attorney General DAVID D. GUSTAFSON Chief, Court of Fed. Claims Section CYNTHIA E. MESSERSMITH CHRISTOPHER R. EGAN ATTORNEYS FOR THE UNITED STATES Signed: December 6, 2007

/s/ Christopher R. Egan for M. Todd Welty Josh O. Ungerman David E. Colmenero MEADOWS, OWENS, COLLIER, REED, COUSINS & BLAU, L.L.P. 901 Main Street Suite 3700 Dallas, TX 75202 (214) 744-3700 Telephone (214) 747-3732 Facsimile [email protected] [email protected] ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFFS Signed: December 6, 2007

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