Textron Inc. v. Comm'r

117 T.C. No. 7, 117 T.C. 67, 2001 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 37
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedAugust 21, 2001
DocketNo. 20643-98
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 117 T.C. No. 7 (Textron Inc. v. Comm'r) 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
Textron Inc. v. Comm'r, 117 T.C. No. 7, 117 T.C. 67, 2001 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 37 (tax 2001).

Opinion

OPINION

Laro, Judge:

This matter is before the Court on cross-motions for partial summary judgment. See Rule 121.1 Petitioner petitioned the Court to redetermine respondent’s determination of deficiencies of $5,083,201, $1,783,938, $244,211, $1,152,171, $14,011,513, and $68,811 in its Federal income tax for its taxable years ended January 2, 1988, December 31, 1988, December 30, 1989, December 29, 1990, December 28, 1991, and January 2, 1993, respectively.

Following our disposition of the other issue in this case, see Textron Inc. & Sub. Cos. v. Commissioner, 115 T.C. 104 (2000), we must decide whether petitioner’s 1989 through 1992 income includes the “subpart F income” (defined infra p. 74) of Avdel plc (Avdel), a controlled foreign corporation (CFC). We hold it does.

Background

Textron, Inc. (Textron), is a corporation whose principal place of business was in Providence, Rhode Island, when the petition was filed. In early 1989, Textron acquired substantially all of the stock of Avdel, a public limited company organized under the laws of the United Kingdom. Avdel’s shares were traded on the London Stock Exchange. By February 21, 1989, Textron had acquired more than 95 percent of Avdel’s stock.

On February 21, 1989, the Federal Trade Commission (ftc) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (the District Court). The complaint sought to enjoin Textron’s acquisition and control of Avdel and its assets until potential restraint of trade issues could be resolved. One day later, the District Court issued a temporary restraining order (the TRO) providing that Textron was “temporarily restrained and enjoined from * * * assuming or exercising any form of direction or control over the assets or operations of Avdel”. The District Court issued the TRO for the purposes

of assuring that Avdel will remain viable and competitive with Textron; of maintaining the businesses of Textron and Avdel separate from and independent of one another; [and] of continuing the state of competition between Textron and Avdel * * * to the same extent as if Textron and Avdel were in all respects separate and independent business entities.

The TRO stated, at section IV, that “All rights to exercise voting power with respect to the Avdel shares held by Textron shall be vested in a trustee, who shall be appointed by the Court and who shall act in accordance with the Voting Trust Agreement”. The TRO specifically barred Textron from exercising any voting rights with respect to the Avdel shares.

The District Court terminated the TRO and superseded it by a preliminary injunction order dated March 2, 1989 (the order). As relevant herein, the order stated, at section II, that it was entered for the purposes

of maintaining the status quo ante pendente lite by allowing Textron to retain, subject to the terms of this Order, any Avdel shares it may have acquired prior to the entry of this Order, and any Avdel shares it may henceforth acquire, pending consideration on the merits by the Federal Trade Commission; of assuring that Avdel will remain viable and competitive with Textron; of maintaining the businesses of Textron and Avdel separate from and independent of one another; [and] of continuing the state of competition between Textron and Avdel * * * to the same extent as if Textron and Avdel were in all respects separate and independent entities * * *.

The order specifically enjoined Textron “from assuming or exercising any form of direction or control over Avdel PLC, except as provided by this Order.” The order stated, at section IV, that

For the term of this Order Textron shall not exercise any voting power, influence, or control, directly or indirectly, with respect to the conduct of Avdel or the shares of Avdel held by it. All rights to exercise voting power with respect to the Avdel shares held by Textron shall be vested in a trustee, who shall be appointed by the Court and who shall act in accordance with the Voting Trust Agreement * * * [and] use his best business judgment in exercising such voting trust power * * * in a manner consistent with the purpose and requirements of this Order.

The order also stated, at section V, that

Textron shall not exercise nor attempt to exercise direction or control over, or influence or attempt to influence directly or indirectly, the conduct of Avdel’s business during the term of this Order. Avdel shall be maintained as a separate corporate entity with an independent Board of Directors. In no event shall any director, officer, employee, agent or representative of Textron become or remain a member of Avdel’s Board of Directors or become or remain an officer of Avdel. Nor may any director, officer, employee, agent or representative of Avdel become or remain a member of Textron’s Board of Directors or become or remain an officer of Textron.

On March 13, 1989, Textron and Patricia P. Bailey (Ms. Bailey) entered into an agreement (the voting trust agreement) which created a voting trust (voting trust) with respect to the Avdel shares, pursuant to the requirements of the order. The voting trust agreement named Ms. Bailey, an attorney from Washington, D.C., as trustee. Before serving as trustee, Ms. Bailey had been a Commissioner of the FTC from October 1979 through May 1988.

Ms. Bailey understood that, in general, her role as trustee was to ensure that Avdel remained financially healthy and functioned independently of any control of Textron and as a vigorous competitor of Textron. The voting trust agreement, at section 3, directed Ms. Bailey to hold, personally or through an agent, the certificates representing all shares of Avdel stock acquired by Textron. She did so in her capacity as trustee and was precluded by section 4(c) from having any beneficial interest in those shares. The voting trust agreement, at section 4(c), stated that, other than the trustee, “No * * * person shall have any voting right in respect of the [Avdel] Stock so long as this Agreement is in effect.” Throughout the term of the voting trust agreement, Ms. Bailey held all Avdel stock certificates.

The voting trust agreement, at section 4(a), stated that the trustee would “in his [sic] sole discretion, subject to the provisions of this section * * * have the duty to exercise all voting rights of the [Avdel] Stock, including the right to vote the Stock on all matters upon which the holders of the Stock are entitled to vote.” The voting trust agreement barred Tex-tron from exercising any voting rights with respect to the Avdel shares and from having any control over the Avdel board of directors. Moreover, the voting trust agreement, at section 4(f), stated that “The Trustee shall take all steps to ensure that Avdel competes as vigorously with Textron as it would should there be no relationship between Textron and Avdel.”

The voting trust agreement, at section 8(a), further provided that

Textron shall be entitled to receive from time to time payments equal to the amount of any cash dividends if the trustee, in his [sic] sole discretion, believes payment of such dividends would be prudent. Such payments shall be made by the Trustee as soon as practicable after the receipt of the dividends.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
117 T.C. No. 7, 117 T.C. 67, 2001 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 37, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/textron-inc-v-commr-tax-2001.