Grieb v. Commissioner
United States Tax Court
36 T.C 156 (1961)
- Written by Steven Pacht, JD
Facts
Leon Grieb (plaintiff) was the sole shareholder of Victory Builders, Inc. (Victory). Upon Victory’s liquidation, Grieb received all Victory’s assets despite the fact that Victory owed approximately $560 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Grieb used money he received from Victory to pay Victory debts that were of a lower legal priority than Victory’s debt to the IRS; Grieb did not pay any of Victory’s IRS debt. The commissioner of the IRS (defendant) determined that Grieb was liable for Victory’s unpaid taxes, plus a penalty, because Grieb was a fiduciary of Victory within the meaning of the predecessor to Internal Revenue Code (code) § 6901(b). Specifically, the commissioner asserted that Grieb received Victory’s assets pursuant to an express trust for the benefit of Victory’s creditors. The commissioner did not seek to hold Grieb liable as a transferee, due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. Grieb challenged the IRS’s determination in the United States Tax Court, arguing that he was not a fiduciary for tax purposes.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Fisher, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,400 briefs, keyed to 994 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.
