Abstract
In Roemer v. Commissioner, 1 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a decision of the United States Tax Court requiring a taxpayer who recovered a judgment for libel to include the judgment in his gross income. In its decision, the Ninth Circuit held that defamation constitutes a "personal injury" under California law and is therefore excludable from gross income under I.R.C. section 104(a)(2). Careful consideration of the Roemer decision highlights the inconsistent application of section 104(a)(2) by the Tax Court and indicates the need for a more predictable method of determining when a taxpayer may exclude defamation damages. The approach taken by the Ninth Circuit in Roemer, while preferable to that of the Tax Court majority, should be abandoned in favor of the test offered by the Tax Court dissenters.
Recommended Citation
Clayton, Grant R.
(1985)
"Roemer v. Commissioner. The Excludability of
Nonphysical Tort Damages from Gross Income Under
Internal Revenue Code Section 104(a)(2),"
Utah Law Review: Vol. 1985:
No.
2, Article 7.
Available at:
https://dc.law.utah.edu/ulr/vol1985/iss2/7