United States of America v. Crossen et al

Filing 64

Judge George A. OToole, Jr: ORDER entered denying 59 Motion to Amend; denying 59 Motion to Alter Judgment (Danieli, Chris)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
CIVIL ACTION NO. 08-12082-GAO
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff,
v.
PAUL N. CROSSEN, VICKI CROSSEN, NATIONS RENT, NICKERSON LUMBER CO.,
ANTHONY R. PRIZZI, JR., and METAL BUILDING PRODUCTS, INC., d/b/a SPIRCO
MANUFACTURING,
Defendants.

ORDER
September 23, 2011
O’TOOLE, D.J.
After careful consideration of the matter, the Court declines to amend its July 18th Order.
For the reasons pointed out by the government in its opposition to the original motion, Crossen’s
offer failed sufficiently to specify the offered amount. (See Mem. in Supp. of Mot. for Litigation
Fees Ex. 1 (dkt. no. 50-1).) As a result, it did not amount to a “qualified offer,” see 26 U.S.C. §
7430(g)(1)(B); 26 C.F.R. § 301.7430-7(c)(3), and an award of attorney’s fees therefore would be
inappropriate, see 26 U.S.C. § 7430(c)(4)(E). Furthermore, 26 U.S.C. § 7430(c)(4)(E)(i) merely
clarifies when a party “prevails” under the general rule of § 7430(c)(4)(A)(i), and §
7430(c)(4)(B)(i) provides to this rule an exception where, as here, the government’s position is
substantially justified. For these two independent reasons, Crossen’s Motion (dkt. no. 59) to
Alter or Amend the Court’s July 18th Denial is DENIED.
It is SO ORDERED.
/s/ George A. O’Toole, Jr.
United States District Judge