Yvonne E. Ness v. Commissioner Internal Revenue Service

15 F.3d 1088 73 A.F.T.R.2d 94 -1195 NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. Yvonne E. NESS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. COMMISSIONER INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, Respondent-Appellee. No. 92-70327. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Nov. 5, 1993. Decided Feb. 7, 1994. 1 Before: CANBY and NOONAN, Circuit Judges, and ORRICK * District Judge. 2 MEMORANDUM ** 3 Yvonne Ness appeals from a decision of the Tax Court denying her motion for an award of reasonable litigation costs pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Sec. 7430 . Because we find that Ness has failed to demonstrate that the government's position in the underlying litigation was not "substantially justified," as required by section 7430, we affirm the Tax Court's denial of costs. DISCUSSION 4 We review the Tax Court's denial of litigation costs under section 7430 for an abuse of discretion. Estate of Merchant v. Commissioner, 947 F.2d 1390, 1393 (9th Cir.1991). 26 U.S.C. Sec. 7430 (a) provides that:…