The Supreme Court justices have declined to weigh in on an appellate court ruling that rejected damages for woman whose home in a Dallas suburb was destroyed by a Texas SWAT team chasing man holding a 15-year-old girl hostage. However, two justices who fall on opposite ends of the political spectrum — Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch — disagreed with that decision.

The search for a runaway hostage

On July 25, 2020, a fugitive named Wesley Little kidnapped 15-year-old girl. Little led police in a high-speed car chase, and drove to the home of Vicki Baker while the girl was in Little’s custody. Little had been familiar with the home because he had previously worked there as a handyman. Deanna Cook, Baker’s adult daughter, answered the door. She Little and the girl with him from a posting about Little being on the run with a teen girl earlier that day.

Cook had been on the premises to help her mother ready the home for sale and there was a “For Sale” sign in the yard.

Ultimately, Cook called her mother, who in turn, contacted authorities. When the McKinney police arrived, officers set up a perimeter around the home. Little eventually released the girl, who reported to police that Little was armed, high on methamphetamine, and hiding in the attic. Later, Little told police that he knew he was going to die and planned to have a shoot-out with police.

Police unsuccessfully tried several tactics to get Little out of the home, including launching dozens of tear gas grenades into the house. Eventually, officers detonated explosives, which broke down the front and garage doors, and used a tank-like vehicle to bulldoze the home’s backyard fence. When police entered the house, they found that Little had taken his own life.

Damages and lawsuits

The tactics of police are not part of any dispute in the case, as they have been deemed necessary to prevent harm to themselves and the public. What is at issue, though, is whether Baker is entitled to compensation for the significant damages to her property resulting from the incident. The explosion left Baker’s dog permanently blind and deaf, and a remediation team was necessary clean the toxic gas from the home. Furthermore, ceiling fans, plumbing, floors, and bricks needed to be replaced.

The damage was not covered by Baker’s homeowner’s insurance due to the cause of the damage being deemed an “act of government.” Baker filed a claim for property damage with the city, but the city denied the claim in its entirety.

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Baker McKenzie partner sues IRS for documents on partnership audit strategies

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 20, 2024, 2:10 pm CDT

A lawsuit filed by a Baker McKenzie tax partner is seeking to compel the Internal Revenue Service to disclose documents about its tougher policies for auditing partnerships, other pass-through entities and their owners.

The March 18 suit filed by tax partner George M. Clarke says the IRS has not produced records in response to his Dec. 19 request under the Freedom of Information Act.

Law.com, Reuters and Law360 have coverage.

Among the documents sought is a paper discussed by its author, an IRS employee, at a November 2023 conference sponsored by the ABA Section of Taxation. An article about the employee’s remarks appeared in Tax Notes with the headline “IRS Taking Partnership Audits to New Level.”

The IRS is auditing 75 of the country’s largest partnerships and has sent compliance letters to 500 partnerships, according to the Tax Notes article attached to the complaint. The scrutiny is part of the agency’s increased focus on wealthy taxpayers.

Clarke says in the suit he wants to learn more about IRS practices, “so that I can better represent my clients.”