Stallard v. United States

170 F. Supp. 267, 3 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 415, 1958 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3000
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Virginia
DecidedDecember 30, 1958
DocketCiv. A. Nos. 620, 621
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 170 F. Supp. 267 (Stallard v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stallard v. United States, 170 F. Supp. 267, 3 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 415, 1958 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3000 (W.D. Va. 1958).

Opinion

ROBY C. THOMPSON, Chief Judge.

These actions having been tried upon the facts to the Court without a jury, the Court will hereafter find the facts as specifically set forth and will state separately its conclusions of law thereon.

These are two actions consolidated for trial, the issues being identical. In Case No. 620, plaintiffs are James C. Stallard and his wife, Helen M. Stallard; in Case No. 621, plaintiffs are Dewey H. Stallard and his wife, Geneva Stallard. Dewey H. Stallard and James C. Stallard, father and son, are equal partners in the Stallard Bros. Co., a partnership hereafter referred to as the “Partnership”, which has engaged in strip mining in Virginia and Kentucky since 1947. The joint plaintiffs seek to recover taxes allegedly illegally collected from them for the year 1953.

On or before March 15, 1954, the plaintiffs in each of these cases filed joint Federal tax returns for the year 1953 and paid the amounts shown thereon. Each partner showed on his return his share of partnership income. These actions are founded on the plaintiffs’ claim that the Partnership had an economic interest in the coal it mined under certain contracts with the Clinchfield Coal Corporation of Dante, Virginia, hereafter referred to as “Clinchfield”, and was therefore entitled to a depletion deduction under Sec. 23(m) and Sec. 114(b) (4) (A) (ii) of the 1939 I.R.C., 26 U.S., C.A. §§ 23(m), 114 (b) (4) (A) (ii), and appropriate regulations thereunder. The Partnership did not claim the depletion deduction in its return for 1953, but each partner filed a claim for refund prior to March, 1957, in the following amounts: James C. and Helen M. Stallard, $15,931.42; Dewey H. and Geneva Stallard, $15,847.28. The spouses of the partners are the parties to this action only because they filed joint income tax returns with their husbands.

The strip mining done by the Partnership was performed under two contracts which are so substantially similar in terms that for the purposes of this case, they may be considered as identical. The earlier one, the Justice Fork contract, is here set forth in its entirety.

“December 4, 1952
“Stallard Brothers Company
“Box 82
“Pennington Gap, Virginia
“Gentlemen:
“This letter will confirm the mutual understandings and agreements reached by you and Clinchfield at a conference in Dante, Virginia, on this date with our Messrs. C. K. Tieche and H. W. Livingston, with reference to your mining by the strip mining method on a certain tract of coal owned by Clinchfield. This letter will further serve as the Mining Contract by the parties.
“One: Said contract strip mining will be referred to as the Justice Fork Strip Job. Such tract of coal lies on Justice Fork near our Meade Mine operation and you will mine by stripping that certain tract or tracts of coal in this vicinity as has and will be from time to time laid out to you by authorized representatives of Clinchfield.
“Two: You will mine this coal and truck it to a point that has been agreed upon where you will load the same into mine cars that have been provided by Clinchfield. Representatives of Clinchfield will be permitted, at all reasonable times, to survey, measure, inspect, and examine the mine workings. You are to conduct all mining operations upon these premises in accordance with [269]*269all existing laws of this State and of the United States, and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Mining Departments of the state and federal governments, now or hereafter in effect, and in a workmanlike manner and in accordance with the rules of good and customary mining. You are to furnish your own explosives, tools and other equipment; to employ, discharge, discipline and compensate the miners and other working forces doing the work and without reliance or call upon Clinchfield with respect to such miners; and to provide competent supervision, control and direction of such working forces. All coal mined on these tracts and under this mining contract is to be delivered to Clinchfield Coal Corporation and none of such coal shall be sold or delivered otherwise.
“Three: You will prosecute mining operations actively and continuously to the end that a daily production of approximately 400 tons of coal, that meets the quality standards of Clinchfield, is attained and maintained, except when prevented by market conditions or other circumstances beyond your control.
“Four: It has been mutually agreed that Clinchfield will pay to Stallard Brothers Three Dollars Twenty-two cents ($3.22) per net ton on a clean coal basis. It is further agreed that to arrive at a clean coal basis, the raw coal tonnage would be reduced by ten percent (10%). It is understood that this ten percent (10%) reduction in mine car weights is to cover the estimated tipple rejects. In effect, Clinchfield would thereby pay to Stallard Two Dollars Ninety cents ($2.90) per net ton of raw coal loaded into the mine car.
“Five: This Mining Contract is subject to cancellation by either of the parties hereto upon the giving of thirty (30) days written notice, by the one to the other, of the party’s intention so to do.
Six: Stallard shall carry and pay for and shall file with Clinchfield proper and acceptable evidence of the following described insurance: tt
“A. Workmen’s Compensation and/or Employer’s Liability Insurance which shall comply with the laws of the state in which the work is to be performed and shall cover all of it’s employees engaged in the work to be performed under this contract.
“B. Comprehensive Public Liability and Property Damage Insurance covering work performed under this contract with bodily injury limits of $100,000 as to any one person and $200,000 as to any one accident, and with property damage limits of $5,000 as to any one accident, and $25,000 as to the aggregate.
“Stallard is, and shall be deemed to be, an independent operator and solely liable for damages on account of injuries to persons or property arising in performance of this contract and agrees that Stallard will indemnify and save Clinchfield harmless from and against liability, loss or damage to property, or injury to or death of any person or persons, arising from or growing out of the work or operation under this contract, except such as may arise out of the sole negligence of Clinchfield.
“Stallard agrees that it will carry out the work under this contract in a good and workmanlike fashion, diligently in good faith and without waste; that Stallard will comply with the provisions of the Federal Social Security Acts [42 U.S.C.A. § 301 et seq.], the National Labor Relations Act with subsequent amendments [29 U.S.C.A. § 151 et seq.], the Wage and Hour Act and amendments [29 U.S.C.A. § 201 et seq.], the Withholding provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and the Unemployment Compensation Laws of the state in which the work is to be performed; that similar requirements as to the above, as to the [270]

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Related

Washburn v. Commissioner
44 T.C. 217 (U.S. Tax Court, 1965)
Bolling v. Commissioner
37 T.C. 754 (U.S. Tax Court, 1962)

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Bluebook (online)
170 F. Supp. 267, 3 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 415, 1958 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3000, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stallard-v-united-states-vawd-1958.