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(9th Cir. 1996). Oklahoma's wrongful termination tort cause of
action provides for such a remedy. Burk v. K-Mart Corp., 770
P.2d 24 (Okla. 1989).
Petitioner relies upon our decision in McKay v.
Commissioner, 102 T.C. 465 (1994), as precedent for
characterizing damages arising out of a wrongful discharge claim
as personal injuries. However, the Court of Appeals for the
Fifth Circuit, in light of Schleier v. Commissioner, supra,
vacated our decision in McKay and remanded the case almost 2
months prior to our trial of petitioner's case. McKay v.
Commissioner, 84 F.3d 433 (5th Cir. 1996), vacating without
published opinion 102 T.C. 465 (1994). The outcome of that case
on remand is still pending, and we decline to rely upon it in any
fashion.
The Supreme Court recently interpreted the meaning of "on
account of" personal injuries in the context of punitive damages
awarded in a wrongful death action. In an opinion released after
this case was submitted for decision, the Court reasoned that the
phrase required a strong causal connection between the injury and
the damages received. O'Gilvie v. United States, 519 U.S. ___,
117 S. Ct. 452 (1996). In rejecting the taxpayers' argument that
the phrase requires no more than a "but-for" connection between
the damages and personal injury, the Court adopted the
Commissioner's argument that the phrase required the damages to
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