Partners Blocked From Joining Easement Case on Eve of Settlement

A group of minority partners can’t intervene in a US Tax Court case over a conservation easement that their partnership’s representative is close to settling, the court said Wednesday in a precedent-setting opinion.

The 39 individual minority interest partners would need to make a “substantial showing” that Blomquist Holdings LLC’s tax matters partner—its designated fiduciary representative under Tax Court Rule 248(b)—isn’t acting in their best interest, Judge Elizabeth Crewson Paris wrote for the court.

The partners “have provided no reason to believe the TMP was neglecting the interests of the partners” Paris said.

Georgia-based Blomquist claimed a charitable contribution ...