Anthony v. Perose
Anthony v. Perose
Dissenting Opinion
Dissenting Opinion by
1 must dissent. The appellee employer in this case has been unjustly enriched at the expense of the appellant employee and there is not one shred of evidence to support the majority’s denial of restitution to the em
Why does the majority opinion ignore the above testimony? It completely verifies the facts as reflected on the employer’s books for seventeen years, on the employee’s W-2 forms for seventeen years, and on the employer’s tax return for seventeen years. Instead of accepting the seventeen-year record of written documentation and the admission of the employer’s partner which is unequivocal, the majority selects portions of the testimony of the employer’s accountant and concludes that the employee “knew of and acquiesced” in a tax avoidance device, and “understood” that his W-2 forms did not reflect his true compensation. Whoever told the employee what the majority claims the employee knew? Certainly not the partner who verified the facts as reflected for seventeen years on the company books and on all tax records.
The majority says that the employer’s accountant told the employee that the payroll deduction each year was a sham. I must categorically dispute that interpretation of the accountant’s testimony. The accountant testified to no such thing. He did testify that he discussed with his employer a tax avoidance device but the employee was never present in these discussions with the employer. Employers all over America may be discussing tax avoidance devices with their accountants—but those discussions surely cannot legally affect an employee’s rights. Moreover, when we examine exactly what the accountant told the employee, we find
During cross-examination, the accountant was specifically asked: “Q. Now, Mr. Yerrichio, [the accountant] when Mr. Anthony [the employee] asked you why tMs $1,077.00 was being put on his W-2 as additional compensation, did you say anything more to him than it has to be done this way for tax reasons. Was that the gist of your explanation and about the extent of your explanation? A. I would think so, yes.” (Emphasis supplied.)
Why did the employee even ask the question? There is only one possible answer. He had been promised insurance benefits by his employer, as he testified, but did not know why the cost was on Ms W-2 form. The employee was not an accountant or a tax expert. He was an employee who was told he would receive insurance benefits and asked why they were on his W-2 form. The accountant did not then answer “it’s a tax avoidance device, it’s not really your money” or “you do not have any insurance benefit, you know that.” The only an
The accountant’s testimony makes complete sense only when read in the light of the partner’s testimony verifying the employee’s testimony. The employee was to receive an insurance benefit and the accountant devised a way to give that benefit and also help the employer.
I must comment on other testimony by the accountant. He testified, according to the majority, that he helped the employee prepare his tax returns. So what? He never said he told the employee that the employee was not to receive any insurance benefit from the yearly payroll deduction. In addition, the accountant admitted that he helped the employee with Ms tax return for only two yews and he could not remember what years. This help could have occurred years after the yearly payroll deduction began. The accountant also admitted that for over fifteen years he had nothing to do with determining the total amount of the employee’s yearly compensation. He testified that he would tell a partner the approximate amount that would have to be included in the employee’s bonus to pay taxes on the payroll deduction for insurance—but the partner, not the accountant, then determined the total amount of the employee’s regular draws and bonus compensation. The accountant had nothing to do, by his own admission, with the amount of the employee’s gross pay and did not participate in the year-end compensation and bonus review between the employee and a partner. The accountant hnew nothing about conversations between the employee and the employer concerning the employee’s true total compensation. The only witness who did know and participated in conversations with the em
All of the evidence in this record supports only one conclusion—that the total amount stated on employee’s tax statements and on the written year-end statements reflected the employee’s real compensation. Thus, the deductions made by the employer each year, from the employee’s total compensation, constituted a withholding of monies by the employer wMch belonged to the employee. To allow the employer to retain the benefit of these monies would constitute an unjust enrichment. The employee is, therefore, entitled to restitution.
“Where one party has been unjustly enriched at the expense of another, he is required to make restitution to the other. In order to recover, there must be both (1) an enrichment, and (2) an injustice resulting if recovery for the enrichment is denied.” Meehan v. Cheltenham Twp., 410 Pa. 446, 449, 189 A. 2d 593, 595 (1963).
The employer was obviously enriched by the retention of the employee’s monies as they were deducted each year for seventeen years. An injustice would certainly result if recovery is denied to the employee. For seventeen years, the employee reasonably assumed and was led to assume that his employer was withholding monies from his gross compensation and that these withholdings were being used for the employee’s insurance benefits. The employee may have assumed too
The employer has had the benefit of using the employee’s money for seventeen years. The proper restitution to the employee is the amount of enrichment received by the employer. Wingert v. T. W. Phillips Gas & Oil Co., 398 Pa. 100, 157 A. 2d 92 (1959). The employee is, therefore, entitled to a return of the amount deducted each year from his gross compensation with interest computed annually on the amount of the employee’s money retained by the employer, including interest each year on the accumulated deductions and accumulated interest. Restatement of Restitution §158 (1937). Such restitution is the amount of enrichment received by the employer during the seventeen-year period.
I would reverse the decree and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Opinion of the Court
Opinion
Lehigh Tile & Marble Co., a partnership, appellee herein, in 1952 purchased from New York Life Insurance Company a “key man” policy of insurance in the face amount of $25,000 on the life of its Office Manager, John Anthony. Upon appellant’s resignation from Le-high to take a position with another firm, he demanded delivery of the policy to him. This denied, the present suit in equity was brought to compel transfer of ownership of the policy, including all dividends thereon, to plaintiff. The complaint also prayed that the employer be declared a trustee of the policy for plaintiff’s benefit, and that it be ordered to pay to plaintiff an amount equal to all of the premiums paid on the policy from the date of issuance, together with dividends and interest thereon. After a trial the complaint was dismissed. The court en bane overruled exceptions to the chancellor’s adjudication, and entered a final decree, from which this appeal was taken.
The court below found that the policy had been obtained pursuant to an application signed jointly by the Company and by Anthony. As requested in the application, the policy, a 20-year endowment contract, named the appellant as the insured and the Company as owner and beneficiary. The annual premium was $1077.00 and, as the chancellor found, the premium payments were made by the Company with its own funds; its cancelled checks representing the payments were in evidence. The Company received dividends on the policy and paid income tax thereon.
Had this been the whole story, no doubt the present suit would not have been brought; the complaint has its foundation in the manner in which the Company
Decree affirmed. Each party to bear own costs.
See Internal Revenue Code of 1954, §264; Treas. Reg. §1.264-1(a).
The bonus also included the approximate amount of additional federal income tax Anthony would have to pay because of the purported additional $1077 in his yearly compensation, as reflected in the W-2 form and the 1099 form furnished by the Company. Compensation paid to employees is, of course, an ordinary and necessary expense of doing business and is deductible.
The senior and controlling partner, Roger Perose, Sr., who caused the insurance to be taken out and who reviewed appellant’s compensation with him annually, had died prior to this litigation. The principal evidence concerning the treatment of the premium as income to Anthony was given by the accountant, Philip T. Verrichio. He testified as follows: “Q. Now then was this payment of $1077.00 charged in any way to John P. Anthony? A. The amount was credited to John P. Anthony, yes. Q. Now can you explain to the court just how this was done? A. The law states that it would be discriminatory to take a key man insurance policy out on one man and not all the employees of the company and therefore you could not deduct, the partnership could not deduct the amount of the premium paid. When I related this to Mr. Perose I stated and recommended that it would not be contradictory that if he issued this amount to the New York Life but if John Anthony would pick this amount up on his personal tax return <md if we included an amount in Ms bonus to pay the taxes— . . . [objection made and overruled] That the additional tax dollars to cover the tax of, to cover the income of $1017.00 ims included in the annual year end remuneration— . . .[objection made and overruled] Q. Now the $1077.00 was paid by the partnership and the corporation, correct? A. Yes sir. Q. However, if you know, did this payment show in the income tax return of John P. Anthony? A. Yes sir. Q. Now can you state of
“A contrary intent cannot he found from plaintiff’s vague testimony attributing to Eoger L. Perose Sr. statements that plaintiff
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Anthony, Appellant, v. Perose
- Cited By
- 9 cases
- Status
- Published