Keiler v. United States

285 F. Supp. 520, 22 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5518, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10043
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Kentucky
DecidedDecember 1, 1966
DocketCiv. A. No. 1438
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 285 F. Supp. 520 (Keiler v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Keiler v. United States, 285 F. Supp. 520, 22 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5518, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10043 (W.D. Ky. 1966).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

BROOKS, Chief Judge.

The facts of this case are stipulated1 and it is submitted on the merits. The record and the briefs of the parties have been considered and it is concluded that the expenditures made by the plaintiffs and their associates to obtain early possession of their leased premises are capital expenditures and are to be amortized over the useful life of the new building which they built to lease to Walgreen.

It is stipulated that the “sole purpose in acquiring the subleases was to demolish the old building and to erect a new one in its place.” The facts here, therefore, are similar in all material respects to the facts of Business Real Estate Trust of Boston v. Commissioner, 25 B.T.A. 191 (1932). At p. 194 it states:

“There is no dispute between the parties that the expenditures in controversy were made solely in order to prepare the way for the new building to be leased to Filene’s. It is equally clear that time was of the essence and that unless immediate possession of the entire property was had the deal could not be put through. That such possession could only be had by the expenditures in quqestion (sic) is clear. We do not believe that these expenditures made under the circumstances here present should be added to the cost of the land, title to some of which had been owned in fee long before this transaction arose. Nor were the benefits of the expenditures to inure permanently, or in the cases of the 99-year leases over their term. The payments [521]*521were made to the tenants to obtain immediate possession so that the new building might be erected for lease to Filene’s, and for no other purpose. It is the building that is to produce the income and it seems to us both just and reasonable that these expenditures should be added to the building cost and recovered over its life of 40 years.”

The quoted reasoning of this opinion, both as to the characterization of plaintiffs’ expenditures and the method of amortization, is adopted here. See also Cosmopolitan Corporation v. Commissioner, 18 T.C.M. 542.

The defendant, United States of America, will tender an appropriate judgment.

Appendix

STIPULATION OF FACTS

It is hereby stipulated and agreed by and between the parties to this action that the following facts shall be taken as true for purposes of this action, subject, however, to the right of each party to object thereto on grounds of relevancy or materiality. This case is submitted on this stipulation and the pleadings herein before filed.

1. The plaintiffs filed timely joint federal income tax returns for each of the calendar years 1959, 1960, and 1961, copies of which are attached to the complaint. Taxes shown on each of these returns were paid by plaintiffs.

2. After an examination of these returns, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue determined an additional tax liability for each of these years in the respective amounts of $568.10, $3,080.95, and $4,471.73. These amounts were paid on March 23,1964. Assessed interest thereon, in the amounts of $134.25, $543.22, and $4,991.36, respectively, were paid on April 14, 1964.

3. Plaintiffs filed timely claims for refund for each of the calendar years 1959, 1960, and 1961, copies of which are attached to the complaint.

These claims for refund were rejected by the Commissioner of Infernal Revenue by certified letters dated September 23, 1964, copies of which are also attached to the complaint.

4. The Maxwell Property is commercial property located on the north side of Broadway, between Fourth and Fifth Streets, in Paducah, Kentucky. Attached and marked Exhibit A is a diagram of the Maxwell Property as it existed prior to the time that the building now occupied by Walgreen Drug Store (Walgreen Company) was constructed thereon. At that time the premises were occupied by tenants designated on the diagram as Foys, Salms, Rialto (first floor) and Commonwealth (second floor).

5. In 1903 the owners of the Maxwell Property leased it to City Purchasing and Improvement Company (Purchasing), a Kentucky corporation with its principal place of business in Paducah, Kentucky. This lease provided for an annual rental of $2,700 and was to terminate on December 31,1963.

6. After 1903, but before 1958, Purchasing subleased certain units of the Maxwell Property to the following subtenants, the subleases to terminate on the following dates:

Tenant Annual Rent Date of Termination

Foys $3,000 12/31/63

Rialto

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Bluebook (online)
285 F. Supp. 520, 22 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5518, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10043, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/keiler-v-united-states-kywd-1966.