Jarvis v. United States

899 F. Supp. 320, 76 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 6046, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11786, 1995 WL 593030
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedJuly 24, 1995
DocketNo. 95-CV-70380-DT
StatusPublished

This text of 899 F. Supp. 320 (Jarvis v. United States) 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
Jarvis v. United States, 899 F. Supp. 320, 76 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 6046, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11786, 1995 WL 593030 (E.D. Mich. 1995).

Opinion

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND GRANTING DEFENDANT’S CROSS-MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

HACKETT, District Judge.

Plaintiffs Gerald Jarvis and Ann Marie Jams Sled this action seeking a tax refund in the amount of $11,396.78. Plaintiffs have filed a motion for summary judgment. The government opposes plaintiffs’ motion and has filed a cross-motion for summary judgment. For the reasons stated below, the government’s motion shall be granted and plaintiffs’ motion shall be denied.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs brought a wrongful death action against Providence Hospital (Providence) to recover damages arising out of the death of their stillborn daughter. Jarvis v. Providence Hosp., 178 Mich.App. 586, 444 N.W.2d 236 (1989). Their daughter died in útero eight months into Ann Marie Jarvis’ pregnancy as a result of the hepatitis she con-[321]*321traeted while employed at defendant’s laboratory. The case proceeded to trial in Wayne County Circuit Court. The jury found that Providence was negligent in failing to treat the hepatitis and in understating the risk of hepatitis infection that existed after plaintiff Ann Marie Jarvis cut her finger in Providence’s laboratory on a vial containing a bilirubin control substance. The jury’s verdict found Providence liable in the amount of $400,000. The wrongful death action settled for a total amount of $815,000 which included costs, interest, and attorney fees. The total amount was specifically broken down by the court as follows:

Judgment amount: $400,000
Costs incurred: $ 40,000
Interest accrued: $375,000

The court’s order specifically stated that none of the settlement was being received by the decedent’s estate for conscious pain and suffering. According to the court’s order, those persons suffering a loss as a result of the death of the deceased were Gerald Jarvis, father, and Ann Marie Jarvis, mother. The court ordered that the wrongful death proceeds be disbursed as follows:

To: Lopatin, Miller, Freedman, Bluestone, Erliek Rosen, & Bartnick, P.C. as reimbursement of costs— $ 16,054
To: Lopatin, Miller, Freedman, Bluestone, Erliek Rosen, & Bartnick, P.C. as attorney fees— $266,315
To the following persons as loss of companionship and loss of society:
To: GERALD JARVIS, father $266,315.50
ANN MARIE JARVIS, mother $266,315.50

Plaintiffs failed to report any of the wrongful death proceeds when they initially filed the federal income tax return for 1989. On April 16, 1990, plaintiffs filed an amended return reporting $266,924 of the $375,000 of interest as income and paid the related taxes. On September 20, 1991, plaintiffs filed a refund claim for taxes paid with respect to the interest income previously reported on the amended return. Plaintiffs maintain that the interest is income to the estate of the deceased rather than income to them. Plaintiffs further maintain that the attorney fees for the wrongful death action are deductible by the estate. The Commissioner, on the other hand, allocated the total amount of $375,000 as interest income to the plaintiffs and allowed a miscellaneous itemized deduction, subject to the two-percent floor provided by I.R.C. § 67, for attorney fees attributable to the interest portion of the wrongful death proceeds. The matters now before the court are the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment. Neither party requested oral argument.

STANDARD FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c) empowers the court to render summary judgment “forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” The Supreme Court has affirmed the court’s use of summary judgment as an integral part of the fair and efficient administration of justice. The procedure is not a disfavored procedural shortcut. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 327, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2555, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

“[T]he standard for determining whether summary judgment is appropriate is “whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law.’ ” Booker v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co. Inc., 879 F.2d 1304, 1310 (6th Cir.1989) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 251-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511-12, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). “[T]he mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat the otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 247-48, 106 S.Ct. at 2509-10 (emphasis in original).

[322]*322The Sixth Circuit has held that trial courts considering a motion for summary judgment may not make findings of fact. The movant must conclusively show “that there exists no genuine issues as to a material fact and that the evidence together with all inferences to be drawn therefrom must be considered in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion.” Watkins v. Northwestern Ohio Tractor Pullers Ass’n, 630 F.2d 1155, 1158 (6th Cir.1980) (citations omitted). The substantive law governs the determination of which facts are material. “Only disputes over facts which might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment. Factual disputes that are irrelevant or unnecessary will not be counted.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510.

If the movant establishes by use of the material specified in Rule 56(c) that there is no genuine issue of material fact ahd that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, the opposing party must come forward with “specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” First Nat’l Bank v. Cities Serv. Co., 391 U.S. 253, 270, 88 S.Ct. 1575, 1583, 20 L.Ed.2d 569 (1968). Mere allegations or denials in the non-movant’s pleadings will not meet this burden. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510. The non-moving party to a summary judgment motion cannot rest on its pleadings to avoid summary judgment. It must support its claim with some probative evidence. Kraft v. United States, 991 F.2d 292, 296 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 114 S.Ct.

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Related

First Nat. Bank of Ariz. v. Cities Service Co.
391 U.S. 253 (Supreme Court, 1968)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Grimes v. Ohio Edison Co
510 U.S. 976 (Supreme Court, 1993)
Jess Kraft and Barbara Kraft v. United States
991 F.2d 292 (Sixth Circuit, 1993)
Jarvis v. Providence Hospital
444 N.W.2d 236 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1989)
Kovacs v. Commissioner
100 T.C. No. 10 (U.S. Tax Court, 1993)
Church v. Commissioner
80 T.C. No. 60 (U.S. Tax Court, 1983)

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Bluebook (online)
899 F. Supp. 320, 76 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 6046, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11786, 1995 WL 593030, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jarvis-v-united-states-mied-1995.