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Stuart J. Bassin

Stu Bassin, former Senior Litigation Counsel with the U.S. Department of Justice Department Tax Division, successfully litigated several of the most important and precedent-setting tax cases decided during the past five years resulting in recoveries of several billion dollars. He served as lead counsel on the first trial involving a Son of BOSS transaction, Jade Trading LLC v. United States; the first bench trial involving a sale-in/lease-out (SILO) transaction, AWG Leasing Trust v. United States; and in the only fully decided case involving the contingent liability transaction, Coltec Industries, Inc. v. United States.

Mr. Bassin’s cases have involved corporate taxpayers as well as high net worth individuals. Many involved recurring issues such as the interaction of the United States and foreign tax systems, application of the consolidated return regulations, availability of the research tax credit, and several different types of complex structured transactions.

These cases have enabled Mr. Bassin to develop extensive knowledge and experience in a wide range of areas, including government contracting, banking, cross-border leasing, and international investing. He has tried several cases involving multiple experts, international discovery, and parallel civil/criminal litigation. He has frequently appeared before the Court of Federal Claims, several different federal district courts, and federal courts of appeals.

Mr. Bassin has worked extensively with Internal Revenue Service audit teams, Industry Specialists, Appeals Officers, Area Counsel, and many separate components of the IRS National Office. His work has also involved United States Attorneys, the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Office of Tax Legislative Counsel, and Revenue Service Representatives in several countries. While at the Justice Department, Mr. Bassin received six Outstanding Attorney Awards.

Mr. Bassin has been a frequent speaker on tax law and litigation topics, most recently appearing on a Federal Bar Association panel on expert witness practice. He has also participated in an ABA Tax Section panel on developments in corporate tax law and at a Judicial Conference presentation on e-discovery issues.

Illustrative representations include:

• AWG Leasing Trust v. United States, 2008 WL 2230744 (N.D. Ohio 2008) (first bench trial involving sale-in/lease-out (SILO) transaction);
• Jade Trading LLC v. United States, 80 Fed. Cl. 11 (2007) (first trial involving Son of BOSS tax shelter);
• Coltec Industries, Inc. v. United States, 454 F.3d 1340 (Fed Cir. 2006), rev’g 62 Fed. Cl. 716 (2004)(bench trial involving contingent liability transaction);
• Rite Aid Corp. v. United States, 46 Fed. Cl. 500 (2000) (summary judgment on validity of consolidated return regulations);
• Lockheed Martin Corp. v. United States, 42 Fed. Cl. 485 (1998) (summary judgment on research and development tax credit issues);
• Kidde, Inc. v. United States, 40 Fed. Cl. 42 (1998) (trial on factual and legal aspects of captive insurance issue; separate trial on informal claim issues);
• Schuler Industries, Inc. v. United States, Fed. Cl. No. 95-495T (1996) (summary judgment on validity of alternative minimum tax regulations);
• Kohler Co. v. United States, 34 Fed. Cl. 379 (1995) (trial of international tax factual and legal question; separate trial of inventory accounting method issues); and
• Defended taxpayer appeals in B.F. Goodrich Co. v. United States, 94 F.3d 1545 (Fed. Cir. 1996); Lockheed Martin Corp. v. United States, 210 F.3d 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2000); and Rite Aid Corp. v. United States, 255 F.3d 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2001).