Cross v. United States

250 F. Supp. 609, 17 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 282, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9930
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJanuary 28, 1966
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 250 F. Supp. 609 (Cross v. United States) 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
Cross v. United States, 250 F. Supp. 609, 17 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 282, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9930 (S.D.N.Y. 1966).

Opinion

LEVET, District Judge.

This is an action brought to recover $519.62 in taxes alleged to have been illegally and erroneously collected. The [610]*610plaintiff, Ephraim Cross,1 complains of the disallowance by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue cf a deduction of $1,-300 on his income tax return for 1954. The amount deducted is claimed to have been expended by plaintiff on a trip to Europe during the summer of 1954. Summary judgment for plaintiff was granted, 222 F.Supp. 157 (S.D.N.Y. 1963). The Court of Appeals reversed, 336 F.2d 431 (2nd Cir. 1964). The case came on for trial before this court, sitting without a jury. Now, upon hearing all the testimony, studying the exhibits, the briefs, and the proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law submitted by counsel, I make the following Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law:

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Plaintiff in 1954 was a teacher at the City College of New York, holding a rank of less than full professor. (139) 2 Plaintiff had been regularly employed as a teacher at City College since 1932. (6)

2. During the twelve-year period commencing with the Fall Semester of 1945 and ending with the Spring Semester of 1957, inclusive, plaintiff taught courses as follows:

Spanish courses — 60

French courses • — 13.

(100-113; Exhibits C, C-l-3, 5-15, 17-30) While nearly all these courses were on an elementary or intermediate level, plaintiff did teach one course in 1957 on the development of Spanish from Latin. (Ex. B)

3. In his French courses plaintiff, prior to 1954, was already distinguishing between Parisian pronunciation and that of the south of France or other outlying areas such as North Africa. Plaintiff taught his students Parisian pronounciation. (120, 186)

4. On June 30, 1954, plaintiff left New York on a French freighter accompanied by his wife and his dog, Trixie. (7, 83, 84) The ship called at Lisbon, Casablanca, Tangier, Oran, Algiers, Naples and Genoa, arriving at Marseilles on July 21,1954. (7,8)

5. Plaintiff spent no more than fractions of three days at any of the ports before arrival at Marseilles, and usually spent only a fraction of a day or two at each port. (7, 8) At each intermediate port plaintiff went shopping and sightseeing. He bought books and souvenirs. Several times he struck up conversations or asked directions. Several times he took bus or taxi rides during which he conversed with the driver. Several times he conversed with book sellers. (7, 8, 11-14, 141-150) Apparently the conversations in Lisbon were in Portuguese. (11) The conversations in Casablanca and Tangier were in Spanish and French. (12) The conversations in Oran and Algiers were in French. (13) There is no testimony as to the language in which conversations in Italy were conducted.

6. In Casablanca, the language spoken by most people is Arabic. Professor Cross was unsure whether Arabic or French is spoken by most people in Tangier, Oran and Algiers, though the language of the countries in which these ports lie is Arabic. (85-88) .

7. Other notable events before arrival at Marseilles included the visiting of a school in Morocco at which Spanish and French were spoken (89, 90), the attendance of movies in Italy (88), and the attendance of a speech delivered in French at a Bastille Day celebration in Algiers. (13, 148-49)

8. Plaintiff, his wife, and Trixie arrived in Marseilles on July 21, 1954, as stated. There they remained until July 27, 1954, lodged at the Grand Hotel Mediteranee, along with a lady friend of [611]*611the wife, whose bill Professor Cross paid. (8, 19, 123) While at Marseilles plaintiff did some traveling in the area. He also visited shops, both book shops and novelty shops. At the novelty shops he bought some small things. At the book shops, plaintiff bought some books and engaged in conversation about the books. Plaintiff also engaged in a conversation with some workers in the port regarding French and American social conditions. (14-15, 150-52)

9. Plaintiff, his wife, Trixie, and the lady friend then went to Le Lavandou, a small beach resort on the Mediterranean, where they stayed for twenty-four days. (15, 33, 120-21; Ex. 6) Plaintiff was disappointed in the beach. (120-21) Nevertheless, he spent about an hour a day on ten separate days there. (121) While at Le Lavandou plaintiff also went sightseeing, drove through the town and to a neighboring town. He went to book shops and other shops, made purchases, went to meetings, entertainments, became acquainted with some officials of the town and the military, and was presented with a book. Plaintiff and his wife also met a French couple near the beach with whom they talked. (16, 152-53) While at Le Lavandou, plaintiff visited the nearby lie du Levant, where a nudist colony is located. (122)

10. Plaintiff went to Aix-en-Provence for a few hours, which he spent sightseeing and talking. (15)

11. Plaintiff, his wife and Trixie returned to Marseilles on August 20, 1954 (21; Ex. 3), where they stayed at the Grand Hotel Mediteranee with the lady friend of plaintiff’s wife. (21,123, 166-67; Ex. 3) No testimony was presented as to what plaintiff did in Marseilles on this visit.

12. On August 23, plaintiff alone set out for Paris, where he stayed for twenty-four days (until September 16, 1954) at the Hotel D’Albe. (16-17, 38) In Paris, plaintiff visited museums, movies, one or two court sessions, and saw Faust and Thais at the Opera. He visited the Bibliotheque Nationale and the library of the Sorbonne, where he struck up conversations with the librarians regarding cultural matters, libraries, books, and library procedures. He also visited book publishers, where he discussed books and made purchases. One of the books purchased by plaintiff was a “medical guide and sex book.” He “did shopping, more shopping.” (17-18, 136-37, 153-55, 158)

13. Plaintiff left Paris for Le Havre on Setember 16, 1954 and left Le Havre for New York on September 17, 1954 aboard the French liner, Flandre. (9, 39)

14. Throughout his time in France, plaintiff spoke French when conversing, except with a few people such as his wife. (18, 83, 152) Apparently plaintiff made no records of any acquisitions of new French vocabulary or improvements in pronounciation.

15. Plaintiff had not been to Europe since 1938. (49)

16. In the summer of 1954 the value of the French franc was 350 to $1.00. (24)

17. During his trip plaintiff incurred expenses for himself as follows:

Fare to Marseilles (41-42) $ 255.00

Room in Marseilles (196) 20.57

Food in Marseilles (32) 45.00

Food and lodging in Le Lavandou (196) 192.00

Transportation to Paris and Le Havre (38, 39) 24.00

Room in Paris (39) 48.00

Food in Paris (39) 120.00

Food and lodging in Le Havre (40) 7.00

Insurance on Baggage (49) 9.00

Fare to New York (43-46) 353.00

$1,073.57

18. The trip during the summer of 1954 by Professor Cross was not undertaken primarily for the purpose of maintaining or improving his skill as a teacher of French, Spanish or romance linguistics.

19.

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Marlin v. Commissioner
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Bluebook (online)
250 F. Supp. 609, 17 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 282, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9930, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cross-v-united-states-nysd-1966.