Opinion
17543-19W
01-04-2024
WHISTLEBLOWER 17543-19W, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
KATHLEEN KERRIGAN CHIEF JUDGE.
On November 29, 2023, respondent filed an unredacted Status Report in which respondent states petitioner's surviving spouse has informed respondent that petitioner died after filing the Petition to commence this case. By Order served December 6, 2023, the Court sealed respondent's just-referenced Status Report.
Any action in this Court must be prosecuted by a proper party. The Court has held that the death of a petitioner-whistleblower who has filed a Petition that is pending at time of his death does not extinguish the Court's jurisdiction over the Petition, and the pending whistleblower claims survive the death of the claimant. Insinga v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. 94 (2021). A decedent's estate generally may be represented by someone acting in a fiduciary capacity, such as an executor, administrator, or personal representative of the decedent's estate. Even if there has been no administration of a deceased petitioner's estate, this Court may formulate an appropriate procedure to bring such a case to a close, including affording a decedent's heirs at law an opportunity to take whatever action may be necessary to protect their interests. Nordstrom v. Commissioner, 50 T.C. 30 (1968).
Whether an individual has capacity to be substituted as a party is determined under local law. Rule 60(c), Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure; Fehrs v. Commissioner, 65 T.C. 346, 349 (1975. Rule 60(c) provides that the capacity of a fiduciary or other representative to litigate in this Court shall be determined in accordance with the law of the jurisdiction from which such person's authority is derived. This may require any fiduciary to be duly appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction in order to represent a decedent's estate.
Upon due consideration of the foregoing, it is
ORDERED that the caption of this case is amended to read: "Whistleblower 17543-19W, Deceased, Petitioner v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Respondent". It is further
ORDERED that, on or before March 4, 2024, petitioner's surviving spouse and respondent shall confer regarding: (1) whether the estate of the decedent has been or will be probated; (2) if the decedent's estate has been probated, whether an executor, administrator, or other fiduciary has been duly appointed for the decedent's estate by a court of competent jurisdiction and, if so, the name and address of such duly appointed fiduciary; (3) if a fiduciary has been appointed for the decedent's estate, whether that fiduciary intends to prosecute this case on the decedent's behalf by filing an appropriate Motion to Substitute Parties and Change Caption (to which should be attached relevant documentation supporting the individual's status as a fiduciary with legal capacity to represent the decedent's estate); and (4) if the decedent's estate has not been or will not be probated, the names and addresses of the decedent's heirs at law. It is further
ORDERED that, on or before March 18, 2024, respondent shall file a status report concerning the information about the matters set forth in the ordered paragraph above. It is further
ORDERED that, in addition to regular service, the Clerk of the Court shall serve this Order on petitioner's surviving spouse (whose name is included in respondent's Status Report, filed November 29, 2023) at petitioner's address of record.