- 2 -
appeal was pending, Congress amended the Code to give us
jurisdiction over cases like his. His case was remanded to us
for reconsideration in light of the new law. We examine first
whether the new law gives us jurisdiction. Concluding that it
does, we then move on to consider the merits of his case.
FINDINGS OF FACT
The parties submitted this case for decision on stipulated
facts, which means that the “Background” section of our previous
opinion can now be more properly labeled “Findings of Fact.” The
facts are set out in greater detail in Billings I, 127 T.C. at 8-
11, but to recapitulate briefly: David Billings married Rosalee
in 1996. He was working at General Motors, and she was a payroll
clerk at the local electric company. The Billingses kept two
checking accounts, and while both were jointly held, David and
Rosalee each kept almost exclusive control over one of them. In
1999, Rosalee transferred money from her employer’s payroll
account into the checking account that she controlled and into
which she had her own pay directly deposited.
Her embezzlement continued into 2000, but Rosalee kept it
secret from her husband until the company caught her. She then
told her husband what she had done and hired a lawyer. By the
time that she was caught, Rosalee and her husband had already
filed their joint 1999 tax return, and she had left off the
nearly $40,000 that she had stolen that year. Her lawyer advised
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 10, 2007