Wheeler v. Holland
Wheeler v. Holland
Opinion of the Court
In April, 1951, appellant executed a United States Treasury Department Form 870, waiving
The memorandum findings of fact and conclusions of law entered by the trial court are reported at 120 F.Supp. 383. Reference thereto makes it unnecessary for us to relate the facts disclosed by the record in detail. It is sufficient to say that appellant’s evidence was intended to prove that Internal Revenue Agent Young threatened him with criminal prosecution for income tax evasion if he refused to execute the waiver; that appellant was offered a choice of agreeing
According to appellant’s view, the findings of fact made by the trial court are contrary to the great preponderance of the evidence. Unfortunately for him, in determining whether those findings are clearly erroneous, this court must consider the evidence, and such reasonable inferences as may be drawn therefrom, in the light most favorable to the appellees, giving due regard to the opportunity of the trial court to judge the credibility of the witnesses. When thus viewed, it is clear that the findings are supported by the evidence and that the judgment based upon them should be affirmed. The record presents a situation where accusations are made by the one party and are flatly denied by the other, thereby raising conflicts on fact issues which had to be resolved by the trial court. Such resolution depended largely, if not almost entirely, upon the credibility of the witnesses. The trial court saw and heard all of the witnesses and was in a better position than we to determine their credibility. Obviously, it believed the witnesses who testified for the appellees and resolved conflicting issues of fact accordingly. We find nothing in the record nor in the argument of counsel to convince us that the court was not justified in making this determination or that the findings of fact based thereupon are clearly erroneous.
The judgment is affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
. See § 6213(d), Internal Revenue Code of 1954, 26 U.S.C.A., formerly 26 U.S.C. § 272(d).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Andrew Jackson WHEELER v. W. W. HOLLAND, as Director of Internal Revenue of the United States for the Collection District of Georgia and United States of America
- Cited By
- 9 cases
- Status
- Published