- 24 - held all 100 authorized units of Mercury Solar PTO. Inasmuch as there is no evidence that Sparkman made any separate contribution to Mercury Solar PTO or gave HEH any consideration for its purported 100 units of Mercury Solar PTO, this paper shuffling of Mercury Solar PTO units to HEH and then to Sparkman further evidences the lack of economic reality of these arrangements. According to the purported certificate, in “4/98” William Montgomery and William Bright were each “Assigned” one unit of Mercury Solar PTO, and these units were also “Released” on “4/98”. Porter and Sparkman acknowledged in their testimony that these entries were erroneous and that Montgomery and Bright never received any Mercury Solar PTO units. The only other entry on the purported certificate record shows that on December 31, 1999, Thompson was “Assigned” one unit of Mercury Solar PTO, which was “Released” on January 20, 2000. Porter, the nominal “trustee” of Mercury Solar PTO, was unable to explain this entry.25 The Mercury Solar PTO minutes indicate that it was not until January 20, 2000, that Porter communicated with 24(...continued) the theory that “the signing a release doesn’t mean they are gotten rid of, they are just handed out to the particular party”. Sparkman’s theory is incompatible with the terms of the Mercury Solar PTO formation document, which authorized the issuance of only 100 units in total. 25 With regard to this matter, Porter testified: “I can’t explain that * * * It’s the first time I’ve seen the document.”Page: Previous 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011