American Airlines v. Johnson

56 S.W.3d 502 (2000)

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American Airlines v. Johnson

Tennessee Court of Appeals
56 S.W.3d 502 (2000)

Facts

American Airlines, Inc. (American) (plaintiff) used a pipeline to transport aircraft fuel into the State of Tennessee (state) (defendant). American then put the fuel in the tanks of aircraft that American flew through the state. Tennessee had a use tax that it charged on all fuel that American used to fill its aircraft tanks. This use tax had an import-export exemption for goods that were manufactured in Tennessee or imported into Tennessee only for the sake of then being exported. Over a three-year period, American paid Tennessee $7 million in use taxes for the fuel it used to refuel its planes within the state. American sued the state for a refund of these use taxes. In the lawsuit, American argued that most of the fuel was not actually used within the state of Tennessee. Rather, American was merely importing the fuel and then exporting it again to other states, where the fuel was actually used. American claimed that, at most, it should pay a use tax only on the portion of the fuel that was actually burned while flying an aircraft to the state border. The trial court granted summary judgment to the state, finding that American owed use taxes on all the fuel it used to refill its aircrafts’ fuel tanks within the state. American appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Farmer, J.)

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Aviation Law

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