Samuel Wegbreit v. CIR ( 2022 )

NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION
To be cited only in accordance with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1
United States Court of Appeals
For the Seventh Circuit
Chicago, Illinois 60604
February 3, 2022
Before
DIANE S. SYKES, Chief Judge
MICHAEL B. BRENNAN, Circuit Judge
AMY J. ST. EVE, Circuit Judge
No. 20‐1306
SAMUEL WEGBREIT and
ELIZABETH J. WEGBREIT, Appeal from the United States Tax Court.
Petitioners‐Appellants,
No. 7109‐13
v.
Mary Ann Cohen,
COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL Judge.
REVENUE,
Respondent‐Appellee.
ORDER
In our opinion of December 29, 2021, we held that this tax appeal is “utterly
frivolous” and ordered Attorney John E. Rogers, counsel for the appellants, to show
cause why he should not be sanctioned under Rule 38 of the Federal Rules of Appellate
Procedure. Wegbreit v. Comm’r, 21 F.4th 959, 964 (7th Cir. 2021). His response rehashes
the arguments we already rejected and raises some new ones.
No. 20‐1306 Page 2
Our conclusion has not changed. And we again note that Rogers was previously
warned about the consequences of filing frivolous appeals. Id. (citing Sugarloaf Fund,
LLC v. Comm’r, 953 F.3d 439, 441 (7th Cir. 2020)).
“The presumptive sanction for a frivolous tax appeal is $5,000.” Id. (citing Veal‐
Hill v. Comm’r, 976 F.3d 775 (7th Cir. 2020) (per curiam)). We therefore impose a
sanction against Rogers in the amount of $5,000 to be paid to the clerk of this court
within 14 days. Failure to comply will result in the imposition of a filing bar under In re
Maurice, 69 F.3d 830, 835 (7th Cir. 1995), and Support Systems International, Inc. v. Mack,
45 F.3d 185, 186 (7th Cir. 1995).
SANCTION IMPOSED