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activity even though she was forced to switch from full-time to
part-time). Dr. Mitchell’s medical reports indicate that
petitioner was not so impaired as to be unable to engage in any
substantial gainful activity during 2003. See Dwyer v.
Commissioner, supra at 341 (holding that the taxpayer was not
“disabled” within the meaning of section 72(m) because the
taxpayer continued to function in his customary activity despite
facing clinical depression).
Petitioner claims that, contrary to Dr. Mitchell’s reports,
he did not work from March to July of 2003 because of his
illness. At trial, petitioner presented as evidence a letter
that was handwritten on a plain piece of paper from a Thomas
Morgan. Morgan allegedly was a former Director of Detention
services at Grays Harbor County Juvenile Court. Morgan stated in
the letter that petitioner took a leave of absence from his job
as a detention officer from approximately mid-March to the end of
July of 2003 because of a “major medical problem”. The Court
finds that the letter, by itself and without more, is of little
probative value.
Even if it is true that petitioner did not work while he
received treatment for hepatitis C in 2003, i.e., he did not
engage in substantial gainful activity, he must still show that
his illness was expected to continue for a long and indefinite
period to satisfy the meaning of “disabled” under section
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Last modified: November 10, 2007