Buhl Land Co. v. Kavanagh

131 F. Supp. 136, 47 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 1065, 1954 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2247
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedJune 1, 1954
DocketNo. 7853
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 131 F. Supp. 136 (Buhl Land Co. v. Kavanagh) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Buhl Land Co. v. Kavanagh, 131 F. Supp. 136, 47 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 1065, 1954 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2247 (E.D. Mich. 1954).

Opinion

KOSCINSKI, District Judge.

This is an action for refund of income taxes alleged to have been erroneously assessed and collected. Taxes for several years, beginning with the calendar year 1939, are involved. The complaint is framed in two counts, the first of which seeks recovery of the taxes as well as determination of allowability of tax deductions for carry-back and carry-over purposes; the second count is predicated upon an offer of settlement of these claims, it being the contention of the plaintiff that the offer was accepted but not completed by the Treasury Department and that upon acceptance of the offer plaintiff acquired a right to refund of the amount agreed upon which right became an account stated, binding upon the Treasury Department, including the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the Collector of Internal Revenue.

Defendant denies plaintiff’s right to the relief sought. In separate defenses defendant interposes the bar of the Statute of Limitations as to the claim for refund of 1939 taxes, and satisfaction and payment of the claim for refund of the tax for the calendar year 1942.

Findings of Fact

1. During the taxable years involved in this suit the plaintiff operated an office building in the City of Detroit known as the Buhl Building from which it derived rental income. Plaintiff always maintained its books and records and submitted its income tax returns under the accrual system of accounting.

2. On July 29, 1925 plaintiff entered into a lease with the Guardian -National Bank of Detroit for rental of office space to the bank in the Buhl Building for a term beginning October 15, 1925 and ending October 14, 1935 for a gross rental in said lease, payable in stipulated monthly installments. In addition to rental, the lessee was charged for utilities.

3. The lease contained the following provision:

Sixth, that if the Lessee shall become insolvent * * * or if Lessee shall abandon or vacate said premises or any part thereof, before the end of said term, the Lessor is hereby irrevocably authorized, at his option, to forthwith cancel this lease as for a default, and to re-let the premises * * * and if full rental hereinbefore named shall not thus be realized, the said Lessee hereby agrees to pay all deficiency * * * without releasing the Lessee from liability hereunder to pay the full amount of rent hereinbefore reserved to be paid for each month of the term hereby demised.

4. Prior to March 27, 1930, the lessee’s interest in said lease was assigned to the Guardian National Bank of Commerce of Detroit.

5. The lessee by assignment, on March 27, 1930, sublet a portion of the leased premises to H. Hentz & Company for a period which represented the balance of the term in the base lease.

6. In March 1933 the lessee by assignment was subjected to appointment of a Conservator and later to the appointment of a Receiver, under the laws relating to national banks.

7. By letter dated April 22, 1933 the Conservator notified plaintiff of the repudiation of the base lease and offered to pay such rental as he considered reasonable, on a month to month basis, for such part of the premises as he might make use of.

8. Extended negotiations relating to the lease were carried on by plaintiff and the Conservator-Receiver until August [139]*13915, 1933, but no compromise was reached, and on November 23, 1933, the Receiver gave notice of repudiation of the lease.

9. The Conservator and later the Receiver continued to occupy, as space for storage and servicing of office equipment, the portion of the leased premises not covered by the sub-lease. The sub-lessee also continued in possession.

10. On December 1, 1933 plaintiff re-entered the premises, after previous notice of intention to re-enter and to hold the Receiver liable for damages for breach of the lease, plaintiff claiming such right under the terms of the lease.

11. During 1933, 1934 and 1935 plaintiff continued to accrue on its books the rental reserved under the base lease and included such accruals as gross income in its income tax returns for those years, but despite inclusion of the rent accruals as income, the returns reported net losses upon which no tax was owing.

12. In April, 1934, suit was filed by plaintiff against the Receiver in the state court, which was later removed to the federal court, to recover accrued rents and charges as follows:

COUNT I

Unpaid accruals under the lease up to date Conservator was appointed on March 13, 1933. $ 3,171.96

COUNT II

Use and occupancy of premises by Conservator-Receiver for period from March 13, 1933 to November 30, 1933. 35,881.89

COUNT III

Rental for period from December 1, 1933 to October 14,1935 at rental rate provided in lease. 87,715.15

$126,769.60

The Receiver, in his amended answer to the complaint, denied any liability under Counts I and III; he admitted liability under Count II only for his use and occupancy of the premises for the period from March 13 to November 30, 1933, but placed in issue the reasonable value of such use and occupancy. This litigation was terminated in 1939 upon payment to plaintiff by the Receiver of the sum of $68,750 in full settlement of all sums due. Each party to this suit released the other from all obligations under the lease.

13. In its 1939 tax returns plaintiff did not include, as income, any part of the $68,750 received in the settlement but deducted the sum of $56,809.19 as a “bad debt” deduction. This sum represented the difference between the rent accruals of $125,559.19 and the amount of $68,750 received in settlement.

14. Upon audit of the return the Commissioner of Internal Revenue added the sum of $68,750 received in settlement, to plaintiff’s gross income for 1939 and disallowed the bad debt deduction of $56,809.19, and thereupon assessed an income tax against plaintiff in the sum of $9,727.76 and interest of $1,197.71. The tax and interest were paid by plaintiff on April 8, 1942, and a claim for refund thereof was filed on February 11, 1946.

15. In its 1940 tax returns plaintiff deducted a net operating loss carryover from 1939 in the sum of $56,244.60, arising out of the lease transactions above mentioned. Upon audit of the 1940 return the Commissioner of Internal Revenue disallowed the net operating loss carry-over from 1939 and assessed an income tax against plaintiff which was paid with interest. A claim for refund thereof was timely filed.

16. In its 1941 tax return plaintiff deducted a net operating loss carry-over from 1939 of $12,532.08, arising out of the lease transactions above mentioned. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, upon audit of the return, disallowed this deduction and assessed income taxes for 1941 against plaintiff which were paid, with interest, and for which a claim for refund was timely filed.

17. In 1943 plaintiff suffered a loss on sale of certain real estate which, under laws applicable to the year 1943, was reported in plaintiff’s 1943 tax return [140]*140and was allowed in full as an ordinary loss, leaving a net operating loss of $18,-813.50 incurred by plaintiff in that year. In its claim for refund of the 1941 income taxes plaintiff asserted, as an alternative basis for refund, that it was entitled to carry-back and deduct, in 1941, its net operating loss for 1943.

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Bluebook (online)
131 F. Supp. 136, 47 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 1065, 1954 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2247, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/buhl-land-co-v-kavanagh-mied-1954.