- 23 -
There is no evidence that petitioner had a bona fide interest in
eliminating Bebout as a competitor. These facts favor
respondent.
6. Expert Opinions
The parties relied on expert witnesses to prove the value of
the covenants not to compete on March 1, 1988. Expert witnesses'
opinions can aid the Court in understanding an area requiring
specialized training, knowledge, or judgment. However, as the
trier of fact, the Court is not bound by the experts' opinions.
Helvering v. National Grocery Co., 304 U.S. 282, 295 (1938). The
opinions of expert witnesses are weighed according to their
qualifications and other relevant evidence. Anderson v.
Commissioner, 250 F.2d 242, 249 (5th Cir. 1957), affg. in part
and remanding in part T.C. Memo. 1956-178; Johnson v.
Commissioner, 85 T.C. 469, 477 (1985).
The testimony of each expert was generally helpful to our
overall understanding of the case. However, we believe the
testimony of each expert was excessively favorable to the party
which called the expert.
a. Petitioner's Expert
Petitioner relied on Clausen's expert testimony to value
the covenants not to compete, goodwill, and going-concern value.
Clausen concluded that the three covenants were worth $1,650,000.
Clausen used a method based on his estimate of how much
Page: Previous 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011