Barnes & Thornburg Files Amicus Brief on Behalf of Center for Taxpayer Rights in Abbott’s IRS Case

Barnes & Thornburg filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Tax Court on behalf of the Center for Taxpayer Rights (Center) in support of Abbott Laboratories exercising its right to challenge an IRS adjustment at the Independent Office of Appeals.

The Center filed the brief on Aug. 17, 2026, urging the court to grant Abbott’s motion for partial summary judgment on Section 7803(e), a law passed in 2019 that guarantees a fair, independent review process for tax disputes, requires written explanations if an appeal is denied and grants specific file-access rights for qualified taxpayers. 

In its brief, the Center said it speaks for the broad population of taxpayers, and in particular for those of limited means who cannot afford to assert their statutory rights through years of litigation.

“The question of interest to the Center in this matter is whether the Internal Revenue Service may ‘temporarily’ decline to refer an issue to the Independent Office of Appeals (Appeals) while simultaneously moving for partial summary judgment that would permanently foreclose Appeals’ review of that issue,” the brief stated. “This question is not about the resources of any one petitioner. It is a question about whether the independent, pre-litigation administrative review that Congress guaranteed in Section 7803(e) remains available to all taxpayers, or whether it may be switched off at the IRS’s election.”

The brief drew coverage in Law360. Jeffrey Luechtefeld, who leads the Barnes & Thornburg Tax Controversy practice, told Law360 that the Center also asked the Tax Court to amend its rules such that the IRS would need to certify that a taxpayer has received the rights due to them under Section 7803(e) once a case is set for trial or when the IRS files a dispositive motion.

“A rule like that would help ensure that every taxpayer receives the access Congress intended, not only those who can afford to litigate the question,” Luechtefeld said. “Most taxpayers do not have the resources that Abbot Laboratories has to fight the IRS in court for access to [the appeals offices].”

Founded in 2019 in Washington, D.C., the Center is a nonprofit that promotes taxpayer rights and access to justice in tax administration in the U.S. and internationally.  

In addition to Luechtefeld, the B&T team also includes associate Jessica Stephan.