Jared R. and Naylene M. Nield - Page 15




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          relevant to that inquiry, the character of the settlement payment           
          hinges ultimately on the dominant reason of the payor in making             
          the payment.  Agar v. Commissioner, supra; Fono v. Commissioner,            
          79 T.C. 680, 696 (1982), affd. without published opinion 749 F.2d           
          37 (9th Cir. 1984).                                                         

               In support of her position that she received the settlement            
          amount at issue on account of personal physical injuries, Ms.               
          Nield relies on:  (1) Her testimony, (2) the settlement agree-              
          ment, (3) her deposition taken in connection with the complaint             
          filed in the United States District Court, and (4) Ms. Nield’s              
          affidavits that comprised her State claim with the Utah Indus-              
          trial Commission.                                                           

               With respect to Ms. Nield’s self-serving testimony regarding           
          her contention that she received the settlement amount at issue             
          on account of personal physical injuries, we find that testimony            
          to be questionable in certain material respects.  Moreover, Ms.             
          Nield called no witnesses, such as the attorney who represented             
          her with respect to her claims against Goer, in order to corrobo-           
          rate her testimony.  Under the circumstances, we are not required           
          to, and we shall not, rely on Ms. Nield’s testimony regarding her           
          position that Goer paid her the $29,000 at issue on account of              
          her personal physical injuries.  Lerch v. Commissioner, 877 F.2d            
          624, 631-632 (7th Cir. 1989), affg. T.C. Memo. 1987-295; Geiger             
          v. Commissioner, 440 F.2d 688, 689-690 (9th Cir. 1971), affg. per           






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