Mahoney v. United States

628 F. Supp. 271
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedAugust 12, 1985
DocketNo. C 3-81-041
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 628 F. Supp. 271 (Mahoney v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mahoney v. United States, 628 F. Supp. 271 (S.D. Ohio 1985).

Opinion

EXPANDED OPINION; . FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW, SUPPORTING BRIEF OPINION FILED JUNE 21, 1985; CONFERENCE CALL SET

RICE, District Judge.

In this case, the Plaintiff, Daniel J. Ma-honey, Jr., the executor of the estate of the decedent, James M. Cox, Jr., seeks a refund of federal estate taxes and deficiency interest paid by the estate, as well as interest on the amount paid. The dispute arises out of a decision by the Defendant that a portion of the value of a certain trust, created by the decedent’s father, was includable in the estate of James M. Cox, Jr., by virtue of § 2036(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. The Plaintiff paid both the tax assessed by the Defendant and the deficiency interest, and then initiated this action for a refund of said payment. Pursuant to the agreement of the parties, this Court ordered this case bifurcated. See Doc. # 25. As a result, at the trial of this case, the Court heard evidence relating only to the includability of any portion of the trust in the estate of James M. Cox, Jr.

In this Court’s brief Opinion of June 21, 1985 (Doc. # 55), this Court stated as follows:

As a starting point of analysis, the Court has concluded that the transfer of 750 shares of Atlanta Journal Company common stock by Governor Cox to the trust he created for the benefit of his son, James M. Cox, Jr., was in part a sale (11+ percent) and in part a gift (88 + percent). This case deals only with the 11+ percent that has been deemed a sale. This conclusion raised two major questions for the Court:
1. Was the sale of stock to the trust, or was it to the decedent, James M. Cox, Jr.? For reasons that will be set forth in the expanded opinion to follow, the Court has found that the decedent, James M. Cox, Jr., furnished consideration for the transfer of the stock and, therefore, has concluded that the sale was to him rather than to the trust.
2. Did James M. Cox, Jr. purchase an undivided or full ownership interest in 11+ percent of the 750 transferred shares, or did he purchase only a life estate in the transferred stock? Once again, for reasons which will be set forth in the expanded opinion, the Court has concluded that James M. Cox, Jr. purchased a life estate only.
Therefore, based on the foregoing conclusions, the Court has determined that the decedent did not transfer to the trust that property in which he retained a life estate (the 11+ percent of the 750 shares of Atlanta Journal Company common stock), and, therefore § 2036 of the Internal Revenue Code does not require the inclusion of that portion of the trust in the estate of James M. Cox, Jr. Moreover, in the Court's opinion, the princi[275]*275pies of estoppel relied upon by Defendant do not require the inclusion of said portion of the trust in decedent’s estate. Accordingly, assuming there exist no further issues to be resolved prior to judgment1, the Court, following the telephone conference between Court and counsel, will enter judgment for Plaintiff and against Defendant in the amount of Seven Million, Nine Hundred Forty-two Thousand, Three Hundred Forty-two and 94/100 Dollars ($7,942,342.94) plus interest as provided by 28 U.S.C. § 2411 and 26 U.S.C. § 6621.

The Court now sets forth its findings of fact and its conclusions of law.

I. Findings of Fact

(1) In December, 1939, James Middleton Cox, Sr. (“Governor Cox”), the former Governor of Ohio and in 1920 the nominee of the Democratic Party for President of the United States, and two corporations controlled by him, The Evening News Publishing Company and Springfield Newspapers, Inc., purchased all of the outstanding stock of the Atlanta Journal Company. At the time of the purchase, the Atlanta Journal Company published a newspaper, The Atlanta Herald, and operated Radio Station WSB in Atlanta.

(2) After purchasing the stock of the Atlanta Journal Company, Governor Cox and his co-purchasers recapitalized the company. As a result, the two corporate, co-purchasers and another corporation, affiliated with Governor Cox, received 4',950 shares of preferred stock. After a stock split, Governor Cox received all 4,000 shares of Atlanta Journal Company common stock. Governor Cox’s cost basis in these shares was $6.2225 per share.

(3) In 1941, Governor Cox created five trusts, each of which named an income beneficiary and remaindermen. The income beneficiaries of the five trusts were Margaretta Blair Cox, wife of Governor Cox; James M. Cox, Jr., Barbara Cox Anthony1 and Anne Cox Chambers,2 Governor Cox’s three children; and Daniel J. Mahoney,3 former son-in-law of Governor Cox. James M. Cox, Jr., was appointed trustee of the trusts created for the benefit of Margaretta Blair Cox, his step-mother and those created for the benefit of his half-sisters, Anne Cox Chambers and Barbara Cox Anthony. Robert K. Landis, Governor Cox’s attorney, was appointed trustee of the trust created for the benefit of James Cox, Jr. Daniel J. Mahoney was named trustee of the trust created for his benefit and that of his children. It is the trust created for the benefit of James M. Cox, Jr. (“the James M. Cox, Jr. Trust”), which is at the center of this controversy.

(4) Governor Cox was the sole creator of these five trusts. He consulted only with his attorney, Robert K. Landis, before creating them. He alone decided who would be the remaindermen for each trust. He did not consult with the members of his family in making this decision or any other decision relating to the trusts.

(5) Governor Cox transferred 3,000 of the 4,000 shares of the Atlanta Journal common to the five trusts. The stock certificates evidencing the transferred shares of stock were issued in the following manner:

STOCK CERTIFICATE NUMBER OF SHARES TRANSFEREE
600 James M. Cox, Jr., Trustee for Margaretta Blair Cox
675 James M. Cox, Jr., Trustee for Anne Cox Chambers
675 James M. Cox, Jr., Trustee for Barbara Cox Anthony
750 Robert K. Landis, Trustee for James M. Cox, Jr.
300 Daniel J. Mahoney, Trustee for the Mahoney Family

[276]*276No stock certificates were issued to the income beneficiaries.

(6) Governor Cox considered his transfer of stock a sale for the fair market value of the stock, rather than a gift. Consequently, Governor Cox did not file a gift tax return for the transaction. Moreover, he did not report a capital gain for the sale. Rather, the amount that Governor Cox received from the sale, $6.2225 per share, was equal to Governor Cox’s adjusted basis for the stock. Thus, there was no gain from the sale.

(7) In 1943, Governor Cox created another trust (“the Dayton Trust”) for the benefit of his wife, his children and the family of his former son-in-law, to which he gave his shares of stock in The Evening News Publishing Company. Governor Cox considered this transaction a gift, and as a result, he filed a gift tax return for 1943.

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Bluebook (online)
628 F. Supp. 271, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mahoney-v-united-states-ohsd-1985.