Broderick v. Anderson

23 F. Supp. 488, 21 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 472, 1938 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2208
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedApril 1, 1938
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 23 F. Supp. 488 (Broderick v. Anderson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Broderick v. Anderson, 23 F. Supp. 488, 21 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 472, 1938 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2208 (S.D.N.Y. 1938).

Opinion

KNIGHT, District Judge.

This is a suit to obtain a refund of income taxes paid ‘by the Bank of United States on income for the year 1929. The total refund now sought is $31,061.31,.with interest from 1930. The Bank of United States in 1929 and for years prior thereto was a banking corporation doing business in the city of New York. On December 11, 1930, it was closed, and the superintendent of banks took possession as the statutory receiver.. The Municipal Bank & Trust Company merged with the Bank of United States on May 11, 1929, and the Colonial Bank merged in the* Bank pf United States on March 31, 1929.

"Four separate causes of action are set forth in the complaint. The second cause of action was abandoned. The remaining causes will be considered separately and in the order in which they are set forth in the complaint.

The first cause of action alleges that the Commissioner of Internal Revenue erroneously disallowed deduction from net income aggregating $152,333.57. The items of this alleged- claim are, first, interest" accrued on mortgage investments in default, in the sum of $58,419.41; second, loss sustained by defalcation of an employee, in the sum of $19,914.16; and, third, loss on mortgage foreclosures in the sum of $74,000. The claim for deduction on account of interest accrued on these mortgage investments was reduced on the trial to $29,756.88.

The item of $29,756.88 is for interest ac- . crued in the year 1929 on a mortgage given by Metropolitan Lumber Company in the , sum of $277,233.87 and on three several mortgages given by I. Snyder, Inc., to the Municipal Bank & Trust Company in 1927 and on certain advances made by the taxpayer.

There were defaults as to principal and interest on the Metropolitan Lumber Company mortgage in 1927. The mortgage was foreclosed in 1929, and the Wagram Holding Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the taxpayer, in February, 1930, acquired title to the mortgaged properties. To acquire these properties Wagram Holding Company borrowed from the taxpayer $913,997.85 and as security gave the taxpayer a mortgage upon the properties. The bank obtained through the foreclosure proceedings $164,102.07. The bank continued to accrue interest on this loan until it closed its doors in December, 1930. The proper *491 ties were appraised February 24, 1931, at $858,750. It is now claimed that the accrual of this interest on the books of the bank and the tax return of interest accrued were improper. The taxpayer had the right to accrue such interest in case there were “reasonable expectation” on the part of the bank at the time of accrual that the right to receive the interest would “be converted into money or its equivalent.” H. Liebes & Co. v. Commissioner, 9 Cir., 90 F.2d 932. The proofs satisfy me that these accruals were made with such expectation. The taxpayer continued accruals after its subsidiary took title and until the taxpayer bank closed its doors. The accruals were made continuously from the time of the commencement of the foreclosure in April, 1929. There is nothing to show whether any part of the debt has been paid. The appraisal value in 1931 equaled the investment of the taxpayer. The taxpayer had loaned Wagram $913,-997.85, and was paid $164,102.07 on the original debt. The bank examiner allowed principal and interest, and the merged property was bought in by Wagram at the amount of taxpayer’s lien.

The Municipal Bank between April 1927, and May 11, 1929, advanced I. Snyder, Inc., $183,000. Between May 11, 1929, and December 31, 1929, the Bank of United States advanced $77,975.51 to Belran Realty Corporation, to whom title to the mortgaged lots was transferred by I. Snyder, Inc. All advances were made for building construction purposes. Belran defaulted in November, 1929, and in February, 1930, the property was sold on foreclosure and bid in for $5,000 by the Merit Mortgage Corporation, holder of a separate mortgage on the same premises. Merit Mortgage Corporation assigned its bid to Monceau Holding Corporation, subsidiary of the taxpayer, to be held for the benefit of Merit Mortgage Corporation and the taxpayer. The bank also accrued the interest in 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, but did not report it as income. The “expectation” of the taxpayer must be judged by the facts shown in the light of their reasonable probabilities. While the sale price or foreclosure under certain circumstarifces may be taken as evidence of value, it can be hardly so here when the liens on the property included that of the taxpayer in the amount of $260,-975.51 and the mortgage of the Merit Mortgage Corporation in the sum of $30,000. The purchase at $5,000 was made by one mortgagee under arrangement between both mortgagees. In 1930, after the mortgage sale, the taxpayer advanced $105,504.-75. This is strong evidence that the taxpayer had reasonable expectation that the interest would be paid. Also, there is nothing in the record to show that the taxpayer sustained any loss, and this is made more doubtful by the combination of the two interests.

Plaintiff relies mainly upon Corn Exchange Bank v. United States, 2 Cir., 37 F.2d 34. The facts there are not comparable. The interest was accrued after receiver had been appointed. There was nothing to show that the bank held any security for its loans, and when the interest was being accrued it appeared beyond question the debtor was insolvent and would be unable to pay. Further, the court there said: “it was improper to accrue * * * on an obligation of the corporation known to be in receiver’s control and from whom it was known it could not expect to receive interest. When a tax is lawfully imposed * * * it is upon the basis of a reasonable expectancy of its receipt.” The rule to be applied here and as laid down in American Cigar Co. v. Commissioner, 2 Cir., 66 F.2d 425, 426, is: “If the coupons had not been paid, that fact alone would not justify a failure to return their face amount in the gross income, as long as the accrual basis was used.” It is, however, unnecessary to determine which of these last two cited cases has application here, for the reason that the court finds that the taxpayer did have “reasonable expectation” that the interest would be paid. H. Liebes & Co. v. Commissioner, supra.

On November 20, 1929, the taxpayer discovered the embezzlement of $19,914.-16 by a teller of the bank during October, 1929. Plaintiff was insured against this loss by a solvent insurance company. The insurance policy required prompt notice of default and presentation of a claim thereon within ninety days from the date of discovery of the defalcation (paragraph 4, surety bond). No claim was presented in 1929. A claim presented in 1930 was rejected and never paid.

Some question is raised regarding the time when notice of loss was given. This is of no consequence, since concededly no claim was made within ninety days from the discovery. The question is whether taxpayer suffered a loss in 1929 or in 1930. .Section 23(f) of the Revenue Act of 1928, *492 45 Stat. 799, 26 U.S.C.A.

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Bluebook (online)
23 F. Supp. 488, 21 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 472, 1938 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2208, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/broderick-v-anderson-nysd-1938.