Rollins v. Commissioner

32 T.C. 604, 1959 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 150
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedJune 10, 1959
DocketDocket No. 69941
StatusPublished
Cited by59 cases

This text of 32 T.C. 604 (Rollins v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rollins v. Commissioner, 32 T.C. 604, 1959 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 150 (tax 1959).

Opinion

Dkennen, Judge:

Respondent has determined deficiencies in petitioners’ income tax for the years 1952, 1953, and 1954 in the amounts of $11,362.24, $34,854.04, and $6,538.84* respectively.

The sole issue in respect to 1952 is whether the loss suffered from the worthlessness of a loan of $20,000 made to Manufacturers Research Corporation should be treated as a business or nonbusiness bad debt. In respect to 1953, the questions are: (1) Whether losses resulting from advances totaling $111,969.60 to Associated Buck Canning Machines, Inc., were sustained during 1953; (2) if so, whether such advances constituted loans or contributions to capital; and (3) if found to be loans, whether the losses sustained therefrom are to be treated as business or nonbusiness bad debts. The year 1954 is involved only as a result of an operating loss carryover arising out of the 1953 loss. Two additional and unrelated issues during these years have been conceded by petitioners.

FINDINGS OF FACT.

Some of the facts are stipulated and are hereby found as stipulated.

H. Beale Rollins, hereinafter referred to as petitioner, and Mary E. Rollins, husband and wife, residing in Baltimore, Maryland, filed their joint income tax returns for the calendar years involved with the district director of internal revenue at Baltimore, Maryland. Since 1925, petitioner has been engaged in the active practice of law in Baltimore, Maryland, and as an independent insurance investigator and adjuster.

During 1950, the Manufacturers Research Corporation, of which Louis A. Scholz was principal stockholder, had contracted to manufacture 47 special identification cameras for the United States Air Force. After failing in an attempt to negotiate a bank loan, Scholz, at the suggestion of a banker, approached petitioner in an effort to interest the latter in financing the contract. Petitioner agreed to loan the corporation $20,000, which was subsequently advanced in four installments of $5,000. For each, petitioner received debenture notes which were convertible at his option into common stock of the corporation. In 1952, the Air Force declared the contract to be in default and on November 6, all of the corporation’s assets were sold. The proceeds were not enough to satisfy the claims of small judgment creditors, and, as a result, petitioner’s loan or investment of $20,000 became worthless in 1952.

In 1947, petitioner was approached for financial help by Benjamin I. Buck, a former client. Buck, an inventor of food processing machinery, who had, prior to 1947, secured patents on bean snipping machines, graders, slicers, and conveyors, all of which were licensed to the Food Machinery Corporation on a royalty basis, was in need ■ of funds to carry through the development and patenting of a recently designed tomato-skinning and -canning machine. Although petitioner at that time expressed little interest in the project and did not wish to become involved, he did arrange to have his wife advance $4,200 to Buck on a note payable in annual installments of $1,000.

Despite Buck’s royalties and employment as a mechanic, he could not meet the first installment on the note held by petitioner’s wife. In October 1948, he renewed his efforts to interest petitioner in financing the tomato-skinning machine. Petitioner finally agreed to advance $10,000 for development and production of the machine and the obtaining of a patent, and on March. 18,1949, entered into a contract with Buck providing for the advance, and at the same time an assignment by Buck to petitioner “of an undivided one-half interest in and to all patents now held by the said Buck of every kind, nature and description, including any and all patents hereinafter granted the said Buck.” The agreement also provided for the formation of a corporation “with the capital to be advanced by the said Rollins, said capital not to be in excess of * * * $10,000 and to be in the nature of debenture bonds.” Buck and petitioner were each to own one-half of the common stock, which was to be restricted as to alienation so that neither could own more than one-half of the shares without the consent of the other. Buck, as president of the corporation, was to devote his entire time to the perfection of the patent and the production of the machine, and, also, to receive a salary of $100 per week. Furthermore, all royalties received by Buck under his licenses to the Food Machinery Corporation were to be assigned to the new corporation.

On November 29, 1949, Buck executed the assignment to petitioner of a one-half interest in his patents, including an application for a patent pending on the tomato skinner, and on March 20, 1950, he assigned a one-half interest in a patent application on improvements to the skinning machine, which assignments were duly recorded in the United States Patent Office. The corporation contemplated by the agreement of March 18, 1949, was not formed until May 19, 1950. During this interim period petitioner advanced to Buck, individually, $10,000, and upon its exhaustion, an additional $9,719.01, for a total of $19,719.01; from his royalty income Buck repaid $2,507.25, leaving a balance of $17,211.76.

Associated Buck Canning Machines, Inc., hereinafter referred to as “Associated,” was incorporated under the laws of Maryland on May 19,1950, with Buck and petitioner serving as two of the three directors and in the positions of president and secretary-treasurer, respectively. The corporate charter provided that the capital stock would be issued to Buck and petitioner in exchange for a license to manufacture and sell the tomato-skinning machine under applications for patents owned by them. Although the officers were authorized at the first meeting of the board of directors to show on all reports that the stock had been issued and was outstanding, it was agreed, at petitioner’s insistence, that the stock would not be issued until he had been reimbursed for all sums transferred to Buck and Associated. Furthermore, the directors agreed that since the money theretofore advanced to Buck had been spent on behalf of the machine in which the company was now primarily interested, that the outstanding balance of $17,211.76 was to be assumed as a liability of the corporation and that Buck was to be released from personal liability for this sum. (The assumption of liability and release did not encompass the $4,200 advanced by petitioner’s wife in 1947, which amount is not here in issue.)

Following the formation of Associated, petitioner transferred additional sums of money to it periodically in amounts varying from $126.95 to $6,000; between May 26, 1950, and September 18, 1953, petitioner’s advances to the corporation totaled $97,475.53, of which $2,717.69 was returned to him. Adding the $17,211.76 transferred to Buck and assumed by Associated, the advances outstanding on September 18,1953, amounted to a net of $111,969.60. No portion of this sum was evidenced by notes or other obligations of Associated; the advances were not secured by collateral and did not bear interest. Associated never issued bonds or its capital stock.

At several points during this period petitioner had expressed his concern over the lack of success in Buck’s efforts to perfect the machine and the large sums of money that were being consumed. The investment on the part of Buck, who was substantially without assets, amounted to $5,000, which represented 2 years of royalties on other patents used in this business.

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Bluebook (online)
32 T.C. 604, 1959 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 150, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rollins-v-commissioner-tax-1959.