Harvey v. Campbell, Civ. No. 4712.

• Decision Date: 15 October 1952
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 4712.
• Citation: 107 F. Supp. 757
• Parties: HARVEY et al. v. CAMPBELL et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Texas

107 F. Supp. 757

HARVEY et al. v. CAMPBELL et al.

Civ. No. 4712.

United States District Court N. D. Texas, Dallas Division.

October 15, 1952.

Clark, Coon, Holt & Fisher, Dallas, Tex., for plaintiffs.

Leon Cooper, Asst. Atty. Gen., Washington, D. C., Tom Shaw, Asst. U. S. Atty., Dallas, Tex., for defendants.

ATWELL, Chief Judge.

Seeking a recovery of $12,683.34 alleged to have been paid in 1948, and $11,301.40 for the year 1949, the plaintiffs base such effort upon the ground that they had established a trust for charitable, scientific, and, religious purposes, and that donations to such trust during the mentioned years should have been recognized as deductible and they seek relief under Sections 1016, 1017 and/or 23(o), 26 U.S.C.A.

The plaintiffs owned 69% of the stock of the Tyler Foundry Company, and one of the trustees of the trust, there being three such trustees, one of whom was plaintiff Harvey, was the owner of a large percentage of the remaining stock of the Tyler Foundry Company. In truth, all of the shares of the Tyler Foundry Company were owned by the plaintiffs, and stockholder and trustee, Squires.

The contributions that were made by the plaintiffs to this trust were used for the purchase of something less than thirty-five acres of land close to the Tyler Foundry Company.

Upon this land they erected houses, and also purchased houses which were, in turn, sold to the employees of the Tyler Foundry Company, loans being made by the trust for that purpose. These employees were both white and colored. The houses purchased for the colored were in the colored area of Tyler residences, and the white were in the appropriate area. The employees so favored made not less than $40 a week, and some of them ranged as high as $88 per week.

The loans for the above purpose were restricted to employees of the Tyler Foundry Company, and the trustees had a discretion in using the funds of the trust.

In addition to the salaries received, there were bonuses and vacations with pay, and sick and hospitalization benefits for the employees.

This sketch of the plaintiffs' activity in this direction of trust formation, hardly discloses that it was either charity, or, charitable. The dictionary definition of "charity," is: "Christian love, love for one's fellow-men; good will to others; leniency in judging others, or their actions; benevolent feeling or action toward those in need; almsgiving; the private or public relief of the poor; a charitable act or work; something given to a person or persons in need; a charitable bequest,...