Messina v. Commissioner, IRS ( 2007 )

ON MOTION FOR CLARIFICATION
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 06-1940
DEBORAH A. MESSINA,
Petitioner - Appellant,
versus
COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE,
Respondent - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States Tax Court. (Tax Ct. No. 04-10926)
Submitted: April 4, 2007 Decided: July 16, 2007
Before WILLIAMS, Chief Judge, and MOTZ and SHEDD, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed in part; vacated and remanded in part by unpublished per
curiam opinion.
Deborah A. Messina, Appellant Pro Se. Eileen J. O’Connor,
Assistant Attorney General, Karen Grace Gregory, Arthur T.
Catterall, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C.;
Donald L. Korb, INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, Washington, D.C., for
Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Deborah A. Messina appeals the tax court’s order
upholding the Commissioner’s determination of a deficiency in
Messina’s 1994 income taxes and assessing penalties. The
Commissioner concedes on appeal that, subject to certain
limitations, Messina is entitled to a deduction for the $84,500
contingency fee paid to the attorney to collect this income amount.
See 26 U.S.C. § 212(1) (2000). Thus, while we affirm the tax
court’s determination that the entire settlement payment was gross
income to Messina in the 1994 tax year, we vacate the tax court’s
order and remand this case to the tax court with instructions for
that court to recompute Messina’s tax deficiency and penalties for
1994, after affording her a deduction for the contingency fee
amount. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal
contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the
court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED IN PART;
VACATED AND REMANDED IN PART
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