Western Pac. RR Corp. v. Western Pac. R. Co.

• Citation: 197 F.2d 994
• Decision Date: 09 July 1952
• Docket Number: No. 12506.,12506.
• Parties: WESTERN PAC. R.R. CORP. et al. v. WESTERN PAC. R. CO. et al. METZGER et al. v. WESTERN PAC. R. CO. et al.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

197 F.2d 994 (1951)

WESTERN PAC. R.R. CORP. et al. v. WESTERN PAC. R. CO. et al. METZGER et al. v. WESTERN PAC. R. CO. et al.

No. 12506.

United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit.

October 29, 1951.

Rehearing Denied January 30, 1952.

Dissenting Opinion February 18, 1952.

Petition for Leave to File Motion, etc., Denied July 9, 1952.

Supplemental Dissenting Opinion September 11, 1952.

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COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Herman Phleger, Maurice E. Harrison, Moses Lasky, and Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, all of San Francisco, Cal., Frank C. Nicodemus, Jr., A. Perry Osborn, Norris Darrell and Mahlon Dickerson, all of New York City, Leroy R. Goodrich, Oakland, Cal., for appellant Western Pac. R. R. Corp.

Herman Phleger, Maurice E. Harrison, Moses Lasky, and Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, all of San Francisco, Cal., for appellant Alexis I. duP. Bayard, Receiver.

William E. Haudek, Julius Levy, New York City, Webster V. Clark and Rogers & Clark, all of San Francisco Cal., Pomerantz, Levy, Schreiber & Haudek, New York City, and David Friedenrich, San Francisco, Cal., for appellants Metzger et al.

Allan P. Matthew, James D. Adams, Robert L. Lipman, Burnham Enersen, Walker Lowry and McCutchen, Thomas, Matthew, Griffiths & Greene, all of San Francisco, Cal., for appellees Western Pac. R. R. Co. et al.

Everett A. Mathews and Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro, all of San Francisco, Cal., A. Donald MacKinnon, Milbank, W. Tweed, Hope & Hadley, Forbes D. Shaw, Whitman, Ransom, Coulson & Goetz, all of New York City, for appellee Western Realty Co.

Before HEALY, Circuit Judge, and FEE and BYRNE, District Judges.

BYRNE, District Judge.

These are appeals from a judgment denying relief to plaintiffs below, who are seeking to recover approximately $17,000,000 from the reorganized The Western Pacific Railroad Company, defendant and appellee.¹ Appellants are The Western Pacific Railroad Corporation (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "Corporation"), its receiver, and three of its preferred stockholders, who intervened to assert Corporation's claims.

Appellant Corporation, from 1916 until the events which gave rise to this litigation, owned all of the capital stock of The Western Pacific Railroad Company, an operating railroad company. The operating company became financially distressed during the "depression of the early thirties" and in 1935 it filed a petition under Section 77 of the Bankruptcy Act, 11 U.S.C.A. § 205. The court, in that year, placed its affairs in the hands of trustees. In 1939 the Interstate Commerce Commission approved (233 I. C. C. 409) a proposed plan of reorganization, which was thereafter submitted to and approved by the district court in 1940. In re Western Pac. R. Co., 34 F.Supp. 493. In the plan it was determined, inter alia, that the capital stock of the subsidiary, owned by Corporation, was without equity or value and therefore was not entitled to participate in the plan. Appeals followed and, after a contrary holding by this court, 124 F.2d 136, the Supreme Court considered and rejected the contention of Corporation that it should have the right to participate in the plan because of increased earnings of the debtor while in reorganization, and affirmed the district court on March 15, 1945.² Thereafter the plan of reorganization was submitted to the creditors in accordance with the statutory requirement, 11 U.S.C.A. § 205, sub. e, and, following their approval, was confirmed on October 11, 1943 by the district court. On April 30, 1944, with the approval of the court, Corporation transferred all of its stock in the subsidiary to the reorganization committee and this stock was later cancelled. On December 31, 1944, the trustees turned the railroad properties over to the reorganized company, The Western Pacific Railroad Company, appellee here.

This litigation involves a dispute about taxes and tax savings for the years 1942, 1943 and the first four months of 1944, a period during which the railroad properties were controlled and operated by the trustees of the bankruptcy court.

During the years in which Corporation was the owner of all the outstanding stock of the pre-reorganization, The Western Pacific Railroad Company, including the years the trustees of the bankruptcy court had possession and control of the railroad properties, Corporation followed the practice of filing consolidated income tax returns in which it reported the earnings of the operating company as well as other affiliated companies.

During the year 1942 the operating company, under the control of the court's trustees, had substantial net earnings. On May 15, 1943, a consolidated return for the calendar year 1942, showing tax liability of $4,201,821.54, was filed by Corporation in behalf of all members of the affiliated group. Corporation, not having had any net earnings during 1942, did not pay any part of the tax.

On July 15, 1944 a consolidated income and excess profits tax return for the calendar year 1943, showing no taxable income, was filed by Corporation in behalf of all members of the affiliated group. The operating company, under the management of the trustees, again made substantial net earnings in 1943, but the loss sustained by Corporation by reason of the declaration of worthlessness of its stock³ in the operating company (which had cost Corporation $75,000,000) was utilized as an offset in the consolidated return and thus resulted in a net loss and no tax obligation for any of the affiliated group. In addition, part of the loss was "carried back" to 1942⁴ and a claim for refund of the taxes paid under the consolidated return for 1942 was filed with the Commissioner by Corporation on March 9, 1945. A consolidated return in behalf of the affiliated group was filed on June 15, 1945, by Corporation for the first four months of 1944. No tax liability was shown by this return by reason of the "carry forward"⁵ of an unused portion of the loss arising from the declaration of the worthlessness of the stock of the subsidiary company owned by Corporation.

The validity of the stock loss offsets was questioned by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and after negotiations a tax settlement was made with the Commissioner on August 13, 1947 whereby, in consideration of the withdrawal of the claim for refund of 1942 taxes, the Commissioner accepted and approved the returns for the calendar year 1943 and first four months of 1944. Except for the offset of the capital stock loss of Corporation, the net earnings of the subsidiaries for 1943 and the first four months of 1944 would have required the payment of some $17,000,000 in income and excess profits taxes.

This suit in equity was instituted October 10, 1946 by Corporation, alleging "consolidated income tax returns were filed by the plaintiff for itself and its affiliates which reported a deductible loss by the plaintiff in an amount sufficient to eliminate all taxable income for the group as a whole" for the periods in question and praying that the rights and interests of the plaintiff and the defendants be fixed and determined. A complaint in intervention was filed by three stockholders of Corporation on April 7, 1947. The principal difference between the original complaint and the complaint in intervention is the allegations in the latter pertaining to "duality" or interlocking management and "domination" of the parent by the subsidiary. It is alleged that various directors, officers and counsel of Corporation acted as directors, officers and counsel of the subsidiary with the result that the subsidiary dominated and controlled Corporation; that said officers caused Corporation to file consolidated tax returns when Corporation had "no duty or obligation whatsoever so to do". Corporation filed an answer to the complaint in intervention in which it denied "on its own behalf and on behalf of its officers and directors all allegations * * * of domination and control of the plaintiff, its officers and directors" by the subsidiaries and affiliates, but six months later Corporation filed a supplemental bill of complaint alleging a "duality of control" and, though falling short of intervenors' allegation of "domination", it alleges "at the special instance and request of the defendants and the trustees in the reorganization proceedings acting for the defendants the plaintiff, however, consented to the filing on its behalf of consolidated * * * tax returns with defendants" for the tax periods in question. It is further alleged that plaintiff "does not aver that in so conducting themselves" the officers acting for both corporations "were aware of wrong-doing or consciously disregarded the interests of plaintiff". There is no assertion of actual fraud or specific acts of deceit nor would the record support any such assertion. Corporation's claim appears to rest on constructive fraud presumed from the intercorporate relationship which it asserts deprived it of its independence and caused it to suffer a loss.

The appellants emphasize that Corporation maintained its offices jointly with those of its subsidiaries and the trustees in New York; that Corporation's officers, who handled the tax transactions, were also employees of the subsidiaries and trustees, and their salaries and the expenses of the office were jointly paid; that because of its impoverished financial condition, Corporation was incapable, as of June 1, 1943, of paying salaries or office expenses and thereafter the subsidiaries paid all of the salaries and office expenses. Appellants refer to this as "duality of management" which they contend created a fiduciary relationship and the subsidiaries' duty to deal fairly with Corporation.

Many of the cases cited by appellants deal with the duties of trustees, agents and partners and with the granting of restitution for violation of their duties. Clarity of reasoning has suffered because of the failure to distinguish between the several varieties of...