Harold A. Johnson - Page 10




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               Equally unpersuasive is any contention that the foreclosure             
          of the Merritt Island property constitutes a casualty loss within            
          the meaning of section 165(c)(3).  A casualty loss is limited to             
          a loss caused by some sudden, unexpected, and external force such            
          as fire, storm, shipwreck or similar event or accident.  See                 
          White v. Commissioner, 48 T.C. 430 (1967).  Petitioner’s loss of             
          the Merritt Island property by foreclosure was not caused by any             
          sudden, unexpected, or external force, but rather by his failure             
          to properly make payments on his mortgage loan.  See Washington              
          v. Commissioner, supra.                                                      
               Respondent’s disallowance of the deduction in question might            
          also be sustained for any number of other reasons, among them the            
          following:                                                                   
               The sale of mortgaged property at a foreclosure sale is                 
          treated as a sale or exchange from which the mortgagor may                   
          realize gain or loss under section 1001.  See Helvering v.                   
          Hammel, 311 U.S. 504 (1941).  In the present case, the facts                 
          suggest that there may have been a gain on the foreclosure, and              
          not a loss, because the Merritt Island property was sold for an              
          amount greater than its original cost.10  See Emmons v.                      


               9(...continued)                                                         
          dismissal in an unpublished opinion.  See No. 00-14389-HH; see               
          also Siegel v. LePore, 234 F.3d 1163, 1172 (11th Cir. 2000).                 
               10  There is no persuasive evidence in the record regarding             
          the cost of any improvements that petitioner might have made to              
                                                              (continued...)           





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