Reynolds Metal Co. v. United States

389 F. Supp. 2d 692 (2005)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
R
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Reynolds Metal Co. v. United States

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
389 F. Supp. 2d 692 (2005)

Facts

From 1940 to 1987, Reynolds Metal Company (Reynolds) (plaintiff) properly disposed of waste byproducts in accordance with industry standards and current law. Later, under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), Reynolds was forced to redispose of its waste and to remediate contaminated areas from its previous years of operation. Reynolds paid more than $110 million from 1992 to 1995 to comply with CERCLA. Reynolds was entitled to deduct the payments for CERCLA as a business expense. However, tax rates were lower from 1992 to 1995 than they had been in the period of 47 years between 1940 and 1987. Reynolds filed suit against the United States government (government) (defendant), seeking a tax refund for an overpayment of taxes from 1940 to 1987. Reynolds argued that it should have been able to deduct its CERCLA payments in those years. Both parties filed motions for partial summary judgment.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Spencer, 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 810,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  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.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 810,000 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 810,000 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

Casebooks

Federal Income Tax

Key Terms