Estate of Kenneth F. Schoeneman - Page 6




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          not on the jurisdiction of the Orphans’ Court or the                        
          unavailability of personal injury damages pursuant to RICO                  
          because the determination of whether a settlement payment is                
          exempt from taxation depends on the nature of the claim settled             
          and not on the nature of the claim filed.  See Seay v.                      
          Commissioner, 58 T.C. 32, 37 (1972).                                        
               The settlement’s terms, which are inconsistent, do not                 
          determine whether the payments are excludable.  See Robinson v.             
          Commissioner, 102 T.C. 116, 129 (1994) (stating that “this Court            
          will not blindly accept the terms contained in a settlement                 
          agreement,” especially when those terms are tax-motivated), affd.           
          in part, revd. in part and remanded on other grounds 70 F.3d 34             
          (5th Cir. 1995).  The testimony of the witnesses, however, leads            
          us to conclude that the claims settled were in the nature of                
          personal injury (i.e., stress, infliction of emotional distress,            
          and damage to health) and based upon tort or tort type rights.              
          None of the parties believed that Kenneth would recover damages             
          relating to the Orphans’ Court and RICO claims.  The personal               
          injury claim, however, while not filed, was viable.  The sons               
          paid the settlement on account of this claim.  The facts of this            
          case are consistent with those of Seay, where we held that                  
          damages were excludable, although the claim was not prepared or             
          filed, when the taxpayer’s attorney believed his client had a               
          personal injury claim, the payer’s attorney knew of the claim,              






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