- 16 - We do not believe that the record, including the testimony of petitioner's attorney, supports petitioner's contention that the cost of collecting on the alleged debt would have exceeded its value. Petitioner's attorney in the litigation over the Redemption Agreement, William Horton, testified that based on his experience in litigating against William, he believed that William would be a tenacious and difficult adversary in any further litigation. In light of this experience, Mr. Horton believed that pursuing the debt "wasn't worth it" and so advised petitioner and his accountant. This testimony does not establish that the costs of collection would exceed the value of a debt claimed to equal $134,116. Indeed, petitioner presented no evidence that he or Lakeview ever even made a demand for payment to William. In light of the fact that William had sufficient assets with which to pay the alleged debt, we do not believe that petitioner has proven that attempts to collect on the debt would have been futile. We thus conclude that petitioner has failed to prove that, assuming a bona fide debt existed, it was worthless. 2. Rent Deduction Lakeview deducted $75,000 as rent on its 1992 return, which was disallowed by respondent. Petitioner claims that Lakeview paid $75,000 to William in late 1992 as "back rent" on the Fence Property. Petitioner testified that sometime after the conclusion of the trial in the action brought by William, William demanded that he be paid rent by Lakeview for Lakeview's use ofPage: Previous 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Next
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