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petitioner was an investor in securities and not a trader. As
such, he was not conducting a trade or business. See, e.g.,
Purvis v. Commissioner, supra at 1334 (taxpayer was merely an
investor where, among other things, his sales of stock were not
regular and continuous); Paoli v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1991-
351 (taxpayer consummated 326 securities sales during the year at
issue involving approximately $9 million worth of stock or
options; however, taxpayer was merely an investor where sales of
stocks were not sufficiently regular and continuous during the
entire year to constitute a trade or business).
2. Casualty or Theft Loss
On October 19, 1987 (Black Monday), the Dow Jones Industrial
Average substantially declined. Petitioner's Ferris & Co.
account likewise declined in value. Petitioner's broker at
Ferris & Co. made a margin call on petitioner on October 20,
1987. Petitioner was required to sell various stocks in his
Ferris & Co. account to meet his margin requirement. Petitioner
argues that he is entitled to deduct the loss which he incurred
on the sale of this stock to satisfy his margin requirement as
either a casualty or theft loss.
Petitioner contends that he suffered a casualty loss in that
he suffered a sudden and catastrophic loss in the value of his
stock portfolio, which was realized the following day when he was
required to liquidate his trading account to meet his margin
requirement. Petitioner contends that the events of October 1987
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