- 16 - competence to give such advice and the clear presence of a conflict of interest. See Rybak v. Commissioner, 91 T.C. 524, 565 (1988). Petitioners' reliance on the advice of Mr. Sheets was unreasonable under the circumstances. Outside of Mr. Mathis and Mr. Sheets, petitioner's sole inquiry into the viability of this partnership's operations was his contact with a jeweler, Mr. Huntington, who advised petitioner that there were concerns in the watch industry about the lack of availability of sperm whale oil as a lubricant and the prospects for any viable substitute for this oil. The Court finds it notable that the offering listed at least fifteen "potential uses of jojoba nuts", only one of which was a lubricant substitute for sperm whale oil; yet, petitioners chose to explore only one of those potential uses by contacting a local jeweler. Some other potential uses listed in the offering were cosmetics, shampoos and soaps, sunscreens, pharmaceuticals, cooking oils, disinfectants, polishing waxes, corrosion inhibitors, candles, animal feed supplements, and fertilizer. Being a physician, it seems logical that petitioner would have had some access to information about the use of jojoba in the pharmaceutical arena; however, petitioner failed to pursue this possibility. Petitioners' failure to investigate any of the other enumerated potential uses of jojoba plants was unreasonable under the circumstances.Page: Previous 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Next
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