Multistate Tax Commission, Eugene F. Corrigan, Petitioners/cross-Appellants v. United States Steel Corporation

This is an action by the Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) seeking an order compelling production of documents for its audit of United States Steel Corporation. These appeals are from the district court’s order delineating the rights and duties of the parties.

The district court stayed its order pending this appeal, but conditioned the stay upon the filing by U.S. Steel of a 60-day waiver of the statute of limitations. Such a condition was not an abuse of the trial court’s discretion. In re Turner, 309 F.2d 69, 72 (2d Cir. 1962); Foster v. United States, 265 F.2d 183, 188-89 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 360 U.S. 912 , 79 S.Ct. 1297 , 3 L.Ed.2d 1261 (1959); see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 62(c).

The district court did not consider any issues concerning the effectiveness of the waiver and the continued viability of the audit in the light of provisional assessments issued by some states. No such questions are properly before us.

The contested issues with respect to the substance of the order itself concern, first, the ruling that U.S. Steel should permit inspection of allegedly proprietary information, and second, the prohibition against MTC’s copying U.S. Steel documents. The first issue could…