Allen v. United States

331 F. Supp. 3d 852
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Wisconsin
DecidedAugust 3, 2018
DocketCase No. 16-C-1412
StatusPublished

This text of 331 F. Supp. 3d 852 (Allen v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Allen v. United States, 331 F. Supp. 3d 852 (E.D. Wis. 2018).

Opinion

William C. Griesbach, Chief Judge

During 2005, Plaintiff Russell Allen received a jury award of damages, plus interest, in a lawsuit against a utility company after stray voltage on his property harmed his cattle business and dairy farm conducted thereon. Allen initiated this action against the United States of America to recover federal income taxes and a penalty that he paid after the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) determined that he failed to *854report a significant portion of the jury award as income on his 2005 federal income tax return. The court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1346 and 26 U.S.C. § 7422. This matter comes before the court on the United States' motion for summary judgment. ECF No. 24. At issue is whether a portion of the jury's damages award should be taxed as ordinary income, whether the interest award on the damages should be taxed as ordinary income, and whether the IRS properly assessed an accuracy penalty against Allen for failing to report a portion of the settlement proceeds on his 2005 return. For the reasons set forth below, the United States' motion for summary judgment will be granted and the case dismissed.

BACKGROUND

There are no disputes of material fact between the parties. In 2000, Allen filed a lawsuit in the Brown County Circuit Court against Wisconsin Public Service (WPS), a utility company, seeking compensation for damages caused by stray voltage on his dairy farm. Joint Stipulation of Fact (JSF) ¶ 1, ECF No. 22. His complaint described the following alleged damages:

[Allen] has experienced decreased milk production, injury and damage to his dairy herd, has suffered property damage, real and personal, has lost value in the use and enjoyment of his property, has lost profits and income, has incurred veterinary and other expense, and has been otherwise damaged and injured.

Id. ¶ 2. The complaint also alleged that the stray voltage constituted a nuisance that had caused damages. Id. ¶ 3.

Twenty-three witnesses eventually testified at an eighteen-day trial. Id. ¶ 4. Prior to the trial, Allen represented at a hearing that his suit was not a claim for personal injury, and the parties agreed to exclude any medical evidence. Id. ¶ 5. At the trial, there was no evidence presented regarding specific medical expenses incurred by Allen for personal injuries, the details of any injuries suffered by Allen or other farm workers, the value of Allen's real property (the dairy farm), the property's devaluation over time, or Allen's basis in the property. Id. ¶¶ 6, 8-9. Neither a real property appraiser nor an accountant testified during the trial. Id. ¶¶ 7, 10.

Allen's expert witness, Dr. Michael Behr, testified about the economic damages suffered by Allen between 1976 and 2000 as a result of stray voltage. Id. ¶ 11. Based on Allen's operations data, industry information about farm profitability absent stray voltage, and nationwide farm budgeting information, Dr. Behr calculated damages resulting from milk loss (the loss of profits due to reduced milk production), young stock loss (the loss of young dairy cow sales due to the herd not growing as it should have), and cull cow loss (the loss of cows to sell for beef), all as mitigated by cost savings from farm costs not expended because of the smaller herd size. Id. ¶¶ 12-13. Dr. Behr therefore testified that Allen suffered $11,000,000 in economic damages, a number that he adjusted to $13,870,967 to account for inflation. Id. ¶ 14.

During closing arguments, Allen's lawyers asked the jury to award more than $13,000,000 in economic damages to account for the loss of cows and profits over time. Id. ¶ 15. The parties refer to damages awarded for this purpose as the Economic Damages. Id. Also during closing arguments, Allen's lawyers asked the jury to award an unspecified amount of compensatory damages for annoyance, inconvenience, and the loss of use and enjoyment of Allen's property. Id. ¶ 16. The parties refer to damages awarded for this purpose as the Tort Damages. Id. Although Allen had not presented any expert testimony regarding the amount of Tort *855

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Chamberlain Ex Rel. Chamberlain v. United States
401 F.3d 335 (Fifth Circuit, 2005)
Commissioner v. Jacobson
336 U.S. 28 (Supreme Court, 1949)
United States v. Janis
428 U.S. 433 (Supreme Court, 1976)
United States v. Boyle
469 U.S. 241 (Supreme Court, 1985)
United States v. Centennial Savings Bank FSB
499 U.S. 573 (Supreme Court, 1991)
United States v. Fior D'Italia, Inc.
536 U.S. 238 (Supreme Court, 2002)
Siegel v. Shell Oil Co.
612 F.3d 932 (Seventh Circuit, 2010)
Schelble v. Commissioner
130 F.3d 1388 (Tenth Circuit, 1997)
Freda v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE
656 F.3d 570 (Seventh Circuit, 2011)
Ila I. Gail v. United States
58 F.3d 580 (Tenth Circuit, 1995)
Estate of Kenneth E. Starkey v. United States
223 F.3d 694 (Seventh Circuit, 2000)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
331 F. Supp. 3d 852, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/allen-v-united-states-wied-2018.