United States First Circuit

In a case arising when the IRS, after noticing potential tax shelter transactions, issued an administrative summons to respondent-company pursuant to I.R.C. section 7602 seeking tax accrual workpapers for its 2001 tax returns, a ruling in favor of the company on its work-product claim is affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded where: 1) the work-product doctrine protects the documents at issue; 2) the company and a third party auditor were not potential adversaries; but 3) further proceedings were required on the issues of whether work-product protection was waived and whether the auditor's workpapers were discoverable.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/21/2009
• Published 01/21/2009

Judges

• Before LYNCH, Chief Judge, TORRUELLA, BOUDIN, LIPEZ and HOWARD, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Judith A. Hagley, Tax Division, Department of Justice, with whom David I. Pincus, Robert W. Metzler, Attorneys, Tax Division, Department of Justice, John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Gilbert S. Rothenberg, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General, and Robert Clark Corrente, United States Attorney, were on supplemental brief for appellant., David M. Brodsky, Robert J. Malionek, Adam J. Goldberg, Latham & Watkins LLP, Robin S. Conrad, Amar D. Sarwal, National Chamber Litigation Center, Inc., Susan Hackett, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Association of Corporate Counsel, on brief in support of Textron Inc., Amici Curiae.


• For Appellees:
  
• John A. Tarantino with whom Patricia K. Rocha, Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C., Arthur L. Bailey, J. Walker Johnson and Steptoe & Johnson LLP were on supplemental brief for appellee., Professor Claudine V. Pease-Wingenter, Phoenix School of Law, on brief in support of appellee Textron Inc., Amicus Curiae.