Aurore B. Benoit, Transferee v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

238 F.2d 485, 50 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 725, 1956 U.S. App. LEXIS 5475
CourtCourt of Appeals for the First Circuit
DecidedNovember 16, 1956
Docket5117
StatusPublished
Cited by37 cases

This text of 238 F.2d 485 (Aurore B. Benoit, Transferee v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the First Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aurore B. Benoit, Transferee v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 238 F.2d 485, 50 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 725, 1956 U.S. App. LEXIS 5475 (1st Cir. 1956).

Opinions

HARTIGAN, Circuit Judge.

This is a petition brought by Aurore B. Benoit for review of a decision of the Tax Court of the United States entered January 6, 1956, determining an unpaid liability of $53,611.68, together with interest thereon as provided by law, on the part of this petitioner as transferee of the assets of River Mills, Inc., for deficiencies of that corporation in excess profits tax for 1944 and income and excess profits tax for 1945.

The taxpayer-transferor corporation, River Mills, Inc., (hereinafter referred to as River Mills or the corporation) organized under the laws of Rhode Island, was engaged in the manufacture and sale of woolen yam. Of the 2,000 shares of common stock of the corporation, petitioner in 1945 owned 16 shares and her husband, Theophile Guerin, owned 1,978 shares. Of the 1,212 shares of preferred stock, petitioner owned 374 shares and her husband the balance, 838 shares. The petitioner acquired some of her stock prior to her marriage to Guerin in 1934 and paid for all of it with her own funds.

Petitioner had been in Guerin’s employ for many years before 1934. Prior to the marriage petitioner’s name was Aurore B. Benoit and she continued to use that name thereafter. Petitioner testified that throughout her years of marriage she was economically and socially independent of her husband, maintaining separate bank accounts and receiving no support from him. Although living in the same home, petitioner testified they had never shared the same quarters.

In 1945 Guerin was president and petitioner was secretary-treasurer and office manager of River Mills. Both were members of its board of directors.

At separate meetings held December 20, 1945, the shareholders and directors of the corporation authorized the sale of all the machinery, “equipment, supplies, office furniture, furnishings and all other personal property of every kind and nature belonging to this corporation,” together with certain inventory of the corporation to Shawmut Woolen Mills for $160,000. Petitioner attended both meetings in her respective capacities of shareholder and director. The sale was made in December, 1945, and thereafter the corporation did not engage in the manufacture of woolen yarn. Guerin testified that at the time of the sale he intended to retire, and accordingly dissolution of the corporation “was in the cards, that was supposed to be done.” He also testified that he had informed petitioner of this decision.

At a special meeting of the board of directors on January 28, 1946, attended by all the directors including petitioner, it was voted to sell the stock of Guerin Fabrics, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary. That stock was subsequently sold during 1946.

At the close of 1945, after the sale of the machinery and equipment, the balance sheet of River Mills showed total assets of $410,381.11. Of this $28,711.75 represented inventories, the balance was cash, investments, receivables and prepaid rent and insurance.

In December 1945, a few days after the fixed assets of River Mills had been sold, petitioner's husband withdrew $100,000 from the corporation, deposited [489]*489it in his personal account and then drew a personal check for that sum which he loaned to Maurice 0. Guerin, his son by a prior marriage. Petitioner, describing this transaction as being “just one book to the other,” seemed to indicate that this was not an unusual practice on the part of her husband. Afraid that she was going to lose the money she had invested in the stock of the corporation due to this withdrawal, petitioner for about a month and a half thereafter kept insisting that her husband pay her for her stock. He urged her to wait until the corporation was dissolved.

On February 1, 1946, petitioner’s husband deposited in his personal checking account at the Union Trust Company, Woonsocket, Rhode Island (carried in the name of “Theophile Guerin, Aurore B. Benoit, Attorney” and hereinafter called the “Guerin” account), a check of River Mills in the amount of $75,000. Prior to this deposit the balance in the Guerin account amounted to $36,892.55. The $75,000 withdrawal was charged on the books of River Mills to Notes Receivable from Theophile Guerin. On the same day, February 1, 1946, after petitioner had endorsed over to her husband the 374 shares of preferred stock and 16 shares of common stock owned by her, he paid her for said stock by a check of that date, drawn on the Guerin account in the amount of $53,611.68. This amount was equal to the par value of her preferred stock, arrears in dividends thereon, and the book value of her common stock.

Petitioner, as a stockholder and director of the corporation, signed two separate waivers of notices of special meetings of stockholders and directors to be held December 12, 1946.

The minutes of the special meeting of stockholders held December 12, 1946, stated, inter alia, that all of the stockholders were present in person; that the minutes were kept by A. B. Benoit, Secretaiy; that it was voted to liquidate and dissolve the corporation, and that the Treasurer, A. B. Benoit, was authorized to admit the allegations contained in the petition for dissolution and join in the prayer thereof. ' '

On the same day the Board of Directors, at a special meeting, affirmed the action of the stockholders. The minutes of this meeting stated, in part, that all of the directors were present in person, and that the minutes were kept by A. B. Benoit, Secretary.

On December 13, 1946, Theophile Guerin, as authorized by the stockholders’ meeting the previous day, filed a petition for dissolution of the corporation in Superior Court of Rhode Island. The petition alleged, among other things, that all of the debts, including federal taxes of the corporation, had been paid and that all of the remaining assets of the corporation had been distributed to the shareholders of record.

On the same day River Mills filed its answer to the petition for dissolution. The answer, admitting all the allegations and joining in the prayer of the petition, was signed by A. B. Benoit, petitioner here, as treasurer of the corporation. On December 18, 1946, the Superior Court entered its decree dissolving River Mills.

The Tax Court found that there was no record in the files of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue of the receipt of a notice of the adoption of a resolution or plan for the dissolution or liquidation of River Mills as required by Int.Rev.Code of 1939, § 148(d), 53 Stat. 65, 26 U.S. C.A. § 148(d).

The income and excess profits tax returns of River Mills for the calendar years 1944 and 1945 were filed on March 15,1945 and March 15,1946, respectively. From time to time Theophile Guerin and petitioner, purporting to act for the corporation, executed agreements with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue extending the time within which the Commissioner might assess against the corporation income and excess profits taxes for the years 1944 and 1945. All these agreements bore the seal of River Mills and in no way indicated that it had been dissolved. The dates of execution of the

[490]*490agreements, the time to which the period for assessment extended, the person signing, and the capacity in which he or she purported to sign, were as follows:

Taxable Year 1944

Time for

Assessment

Executed Extended to Signed By Position

January 2,1948 June 30, 1949 Theophile Guerin President

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238 F.2d 485, 50 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 725, 1956 U.S. App. LEXIS 5475, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aurore-b-benoit-transferee-v-commissioner-of-internal-revenue-ca1-1956.