Hoover v. Gregory

835 S.W.2d 668, 1992 WL 123355
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 3, 1992
Docket05-91-00643-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by104 cases

This text of 835 S.W.2d 668 (Hoover v. Gregory) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hoover v. Gregory, 835 S.W.2d 668, 1992 WL 123355 (Tex. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

OPINION

OVARD, Justice.

Appellants Harry C. Hoover, Jr., C.D. Townsend, and Central Petroleum Corporation appeal the trial court’s award of summary judgment based on limitations in favor of appellees, William H. Gregory, Gregory Government Securities, Inc., Gregory Investment and Management, and Dean C. Richardson. Appellants sued appellees in connection with a tax-shelter package they purchased from appellees. In two points of error, appellants argue that (1) the statute of limitations had not run on their claims against appellees and (2) the trial court should have assessed sanctions against appellees because appellees’ motion for summary judgment was groundless and was either brought in bad faith or for the purpose of harassment. We overrule appellants’ points and affirm the trial court’s judgment.

*670 FACTS

The Gregory Program

Between 1979 and 1981, appellants entered into “forward contracts” with appellees 1 for the deferred delivery of government-guaranteed mortgage certificates. Appellees sold appellants the forward contracts through a program referred to as the “Gregory Program.” Forward contracts are similar to futures contracts but they are not traded on a public exchange. Appellants participated in the Gregory Program to defer tax payments.

In 1981, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) began investigating the Gregory Program. It disallowed the tax deductions taken under the Program and issued Notices of Deficiency to each of the appellants. The Notices informed appellants that their Gregory Program deductions had been disallowed. The Notices stated that the IRS considered the Gregory Program transactions “shams entered into for tax avoidance purposes,” that they were “not bona fide,” and that they “lack[ed] economic substance.”

Each appellant filed a petition in United States Tax Court challenging the IRS’s dis-allowance of their Gregory Program tax deductions. The tax court held that the Gregory Program was a fraudulent tax shelter. Brown v. Commissioner, 85 T.C. 968 (1985) (hereinafter referred to as Brown). The Ninth Circuit subsequently affirmed Brown, and the Supreme Court denied certiorari. Brown sub nom. Sochin v. Commissioner, 843 F.2d 351 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 824,109 S.Ct. 72,102 L.Ed.2d 49 (1988) (hereinafter Brown affirmed ).

On July 11, 1989, appellants filed suit in state court against appellees alleging negligence, breach of fiduciary duties, professional malpractice, deceptive trade practices, fraud, and breach of contract. Appel-lees filed a motion for summary judgment contending that all of the appellants’ claims were barred by the applicable statutes of limitations. The trial court granted the summary judgment motion in favor of ap-pellees.

The Timetable

The pertinent undisputed dates are as follows:

1979 Appellee Gregory incorporates Gregory Investment and Management, Inc. and Gregory Government Securities, Inc.
June 30, 1980 Appellant Central Petroleum enters into its last forward contract with appellees
May 4, 1981 Appellant Townsend enters into his last forward contract with ap-pellees
July 2,1981 Appellant Hoover enters into his last forward contract with appel-lees
October 12, 1981 Appellee Gregory informs appellants by letter that IRS is examining Gregory Program tax deductions
August 26, 1982 IRS sends its Examination Report to appellant Hoover stating that his Gregory Program deductions have been disallowed January 11, 1983 IRS sends Notice of Deficiency to appellant Hoover March 24, 1983 Appellant Hoover files petition in U.S. Tax Court challenging the disallowance
November 2, 1983 IRS sends its Examination Report to appellant Townsend stating that his Gregory Program deductions on his 1980 tax return have been disallowed
*671 May 23, 1984 Appellant Townsend files petition in U.S. Tax Court challenging the disallowance
June 27, 1984 IRS sends its Examination Report to appellant Townsend stating that his Gregory Program deductions on his 1981 and 1982 tax returns have been disallowed
IRS sends its Examination Report to appellant Central Petroleum stating that its Gregory Program deductions have been disallowed
October 24, 1984 IRS sends Notice of Deficiency to appellant Central Petroleum
November 14,1984 Appellant Central Petroleum files petition in U.S. Tax Court challenging the disallowance
April 9, 1985 IRS sends Notice of Deficiency to appellant Townsend
December 18, 1985 The Tax Court holds that the Gregory Program was a fraudulent tax shelter in Brown
March 29,1988 The Ninth Circuit affirms Brown on appeal in Brown affirmed
October 3, 1988 The Supreme Court denies application for certiorari on Brown
July 11, 1989 Appellants file suit against appellees
August 1, 1990 The trial court enters summary judgment in favor of appel-lees Gregory Government Securities, Inc., Gregory Investment and Management, Inc., and Dean C. Richardson
February 28, 1991 The trial court enters summary judgment in favor of appel-lee William H. Gregory

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ANALYSIS

Standard of Review

Summary judgment may be rendered only if the pleadings, depositions, admissions, and affidavits show (1) that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact, and (2) that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Tex. R.Civ.P. 166a(c); Rodriguez v. Naylor Indus., Inc., 763 S.W.2d 411, 413 (Tex.1989). Therefore, appellees, as defendants in the trial court and movants in the summary judgment proceeding, must either (1) disprove at least one element of each of the appellants’ theories of recovery, or (2) plead and conclusively establish each essential element of an affirmative defense, thereby rebutting appellants’ causes of action. See City of Houston v. Clear Creek Basin Auth., 589 S.W.2d 671, 679 (Tex. 1979). Statute of limitations is an affirmative defense. Tex.R.Civ.P. 94. Thus, ap-pellees bear the burden of pleading and conclusively establishing each essential element of their plea of limitations. See Id.; Woods v. William M. Mercer, Inc., 769 S.W.2d 515, 517 (Tex.1988).

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Bluebook (online)
835 S.W.2d 668, 1992 WL 123355, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hoover-v-gregory-texapp-1992.