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final settlement agreement, as approved by the Maritz Inc. board
of directors, expressly provided for $500,000 to be paid to
Katherine and $250,000 to be paid to Damian in settlement of
their respective claims as asserted in the Suelthaus letters. On
these facts, the manner in which the allocation between Katherine
and Damian was reached is not determinative of the existence or
absence of a causal link between the payments to each and
personal injuries suffered by each.
B. The Effect of the Characterization of the Settlement
Proceeds as Being for “Personal Damages”
Petitioners contend that the settlement agreement expressly
allocates the settlement payments to Katherine’s and Damian’s
claims for personal injuries, noting that Schedule III of the
settlement agreement refers to the settlement payments to
Katherine and Damian as being for “personal damages”, as does the
May 1994 Suelthaus letters and the so-called tax consistency
letter. We disagree with petitioners’ contention.
In the first instance, we are unconvinced that Maritz Inc.
would have understood the term “personal damages” as used in
these various documents to be synonymous with tort type personal
injuries. We believe a more reliable indicator of Maritz Inc.’s
intent is found in section 11.03 of the settlement agreement,
which expressly indicates that the payments to Katherine and
Damian would discharge “all manner of claims” that might arise
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