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their statements, that USI’s fraudulent conduct caused petitioner
to suffer damage to his business reputation and credit.
Statements in briefs do not constitute evidence. Rule 143(b).
We have found no evidence in the record that credibly supports
petitioners’ allegations of personal injury to petitioner. By
contrast, in Fabry v. Commissioner, 223 F.3d at 1263 n.4, 1270,
the Court of Appeals found evidence in the record that the Fabrys
endured personal embarrassment, lost friends, were forced to
withdraw from trade organizations, and suffered health
consequences. Unlike the taxpayers in Fabry, petitioner did not
operate the businesses in question as sole proprietorships and
has not established that his personal name was synonymous with
his businesses.
Moreover, as we discussed in our original opinion, the
record does not show that petitioner presented evidence in the
USI litigation regarding any personal injuries or that petitioner
made any specific request to the jury for an award to compensate
him for any personal injuries.
Petitioners seem to suggest that we should assign no
significance to the absence of evidence supporting their
contentions that petitioner sustained personal injuries and
received damages on account of those personal injuries. On
supplemental brief, petitioners argue that “fraud is an
inherently personal dignitary tort, and, as a result, all the
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