Free Cross Motion - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:05-cv-00231-EJD

Document 137-3

Filed 12/03/2007

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS No. 05-231 T (Chief Judge Damich) ______________________________ JZ Buckingham Investments LLC as Tax Matters Partner of JBJZ Partners, a South Carolina general partnership, Plaintiff, v. United States of America, Defendant.

__________________________
DAVID M. STEINER, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1746, hereby declares under penalty of perjury as follows: 1. I am an attorney of the Washington D.C. office of the United States Department of

Justice, Tax Division, co-counsel for Defendant, the United States of America ("United States") in these proceedings. I am also co-counsel for the United States in Carmel Partners v. United States, Case No. No. 1:06-cv-8002-JDT-WTL (USDC SDIN) and In re COBRA Tax Shelters Litigation, 1:05-ml-09727-JDT WTL (USDC SDIN), other COBRA litigation in which plaintiff's counsel also represents other taxpayers. 2. I submit this Declaration in support of United States' Opposition to Plaintiff's Corrected

and Amended Motion to Compel Defendant to Comply with Rule 30(b)(6) Notice and Memorandum in Support of its Cross-Motion for a Protective Order.

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3.

Plaintiff's First, Second and Third Set of Interrogatories comprised contention

interrogatories. The United States served United States' Second Amended Answers to First Set of Interrogatories as well as United States Amended Answers to Second set of Interrogatories on August 11, 2006. On October 24, 2006, Defendant served United States Answers to Plaintiff's Third Set of Interrogatories. A true copy of these Responses is attached hereto as Govt. Ex. A. 4. In Carmel Partners v. United States, Case No. No. 1:06-cv-8002-JDT-WTL (USDC

SDIN), plaintiff's counsel formerly also represented Carmel Partners. In that litigation, Carmel Partners' First Request for Production requested all documents relating in any manner to: 1) Chief Counsel Notice 20003-020; 2) Chief Counsel Notice 2003-030; 3) Temporary Treasury Regulation 1.752-6T; 4) Proposed Treasury Regulation 1.752-7; 5) and Temporary Treasury Regulation 1.358-7. A true copy of the United States' Response to Carmel's First Request for Production is attached hereto as Govt. Ex. B. The United States' response memorializes the United States agreement with plaintiff's counsel to produce all responsive non-privileged documents, notwithstanding and without waiving its objections as to relevancy, privilege, and burden, in exchange for plaintiff's agreement that the United States only be required to produce draft privilege logs, and would be required to produce a supporting declaration only in the event plaintiff sought to challenge any of these privilege logs. See United States' Response Nos. 4-5, Govt. Ex. B. Concurrently, the United States produced all non-privileged documents and privilege logs identifying all documents being withheld upon a claim of privilege. 5. On February 28, 2006, a case management plan was tendered in In re COBRA Tax

Shelters Litigation, 1:05-ml-09727-JDT WTL (USDC SDIN), the Multi District Litigation

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(MDL) involving the COBRA tax shelters, a true copy of which is attached hereto as Govt. Ex. C. The case management plan was approved on March 13, 2006, Dkt. 33. 6. On March 30, 2007, plaintiff served a Rule 30(b)(6) Notice and Subpoena on the United

States, a true copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit D.

I declare under penalty of perjury, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, that the foregoing is true and correct.

Executed this third day of December, 2007.

s/David M. Steiner DAVID M. STEINER Trial Attorney U.S. Department of Justice

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