Walter James Sims, Jr. & Sonia Gail Tolliver-Sims - Page 5




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          assessment of the facts and circumstances surrounding the                   
          likelihood of repayment.  Id.  “Any ‘identifiable event’ which              
          fixes the loss with certainty may be taken into consideration.”             
          Id. at 445 (quoting United States v. White Dental Manufacturing             
          Co., 274 U.S. 398, 401 (1927)).                                             
               Petitioners argue that petitioner was unaware of the credit            
          card debt, and that he does not know when, if ever, the debt was            
          discharged.  Respondent primarily relies on the Form 1099-C                 
          issued to petitioners by the credit card company.  Respondent was           
          unable to produce a copy of the Form 1099-C sent to petitioners,            
          and petitioners allegedly never received a copy due to                      
          petitioner’s and petitioner’s mother’s changes in address around            
          the relevant time frame.                                                    
               Evidence in the record mainly serves to corroborate the                
          issuance of the Form 1099-C and does nothing to independently               
          establish that petitioner’s debt was discharged, or the date of             
          such a discharge.  Indeed, it is not clear whether the debt was             
          ever discharged.  According to the credit card company’s records,           
          the debt remained listed on petitioner’s account at least through           
          September 2001.  Although the company issued a Form 1099-C to               
          petitioner, there was no indication in the record how the company           
          determined that the debt had been discharged in 1998, or even if            
          it ever made such a determination:  The company merely stated               
          that a Form 1099-C was sent to petitioner.  More importantly,               






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