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receive thereunder is for a personal injury claim petitioner has
against IBM. The references to physical and mental injury in the
settlement agreement were inserted pursuant to petitioner's
request. Indeed, the cover letter from IBM's corporate counsel to
petitioner (with which was enclosed a draft of the settlement
agreement) states:
The draft attempts to accommodate your request that we
make it clear that you have asserted claims for personal
injuries and that the lump sum payments is in settlement
of those as well as all other claims.
According to petitioner, he collapsed and suffered injuries
(hand tremors, weight loss, and severe headaches) due to the stress
he experienced as a consequence of IBM's termination of his
employment. At trial, we observed that petitioner experienced
tremors in his hands. Although at times, wrongful employment
termination possibly may result in personal injury, if the amount
of lost wages or other compensation received in such cases is not
linked to that personal injury, such an award will not qualify for
the exclusion from gross income provided in section 104(a)(2). See
Commissioner v. Schleier, supra at 330. Such is the case herein.
Where a settlement agreement lacks express language stating
what the settlement amount was paid to settle, then the most
important factor is the intent of the payor. See Knuckles v.
Commissioner, 349 F.2d 610, 612-613 (10th Cir. 1965), affg. T.C.
Memo. 1964-33. The best indicator of IBM's intent is the language
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