Cincinnati Reds v. Testa

122 N.E.3d 1178, 155 Ohio St. 3d 512, (2018)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Cincinnati Reds v. Testa

Ohio Supreme Court
122 N.E.3d 1178, 155 Ohio St. 3d 512, (2018)

  • Written by Heather Whittemore, JD

Facts

The Cincinnati Reds (the Reds) (plaintiff) was a baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. To increase ticket sales, the Reds distributed promotional merchandise at some of their baseball games. The promotional merchandise was only available at those games. The Reds specifically advertised the promotional merchandise, and their fans expected to receive promotional material. The Reds gave replacement items or complimentary tickets to fans who did not receive the advertised promotional merchandise. The cost of the promotional merchandise was factored into the ticket price for the baseball game and was not separately stated in the price of the ticket. The purchase of tickets was not subject to sales tax. The Ohio tax commissioner, Joseph Testa (defendant), conducted a use-tax audit of the Reds’ purchases and found that the Reds owed taxes on their initial purchase of the promotional merchandise from suppliers. The Reds appealed, arguing that the promotional merchandise should be excluded from Ohio’s sales taxes under the sale-for-resale exemption. Under Ohio’s retail-sales-tax laws, all sales of tangible personal property were subject to taxation except sales in which the purpose of the consumer was to resell the property. The tax laws explained that the sale-for-resale exemption only applied to transactions in which the consumer received consideration for reselling the property. The Ohio Board of Tax Appeals upheld the commissioner’s determination, holding that the Reds did not intend to resell the promotional merchandise because the Reds gave the merchandise away for free, meaning that the Reds received no consideration for the promotional merchandise. The Reds appealed, arguing that they intended to resell the merchandise because they promised to distribute the merchandise to fans, creating a contractual expectation and receiving consideration through the fans’ purchase of tickets.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Fischer, J.)

Dissent (DeGenaro, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 815,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership