 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 
|
|
 |
||||||||||||||||
|
Bar News - August 13, 2004 Notes From a Messy Desk The Price of $ecrecy Secrecy in settlements had tax consequences for a Minneapolis television cameraman who obtained a six-figure settlement from a well-known NBA player who had kicked the cameraman in the groin after falling over him at courtside during a game. In a U.S. Tax Court case, Amos v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2003-329 (Dec. 1, 2003), the plaintiff, Eugene Amos, agreed to a $200,000 settlement that included as "part of the consideration" strict secrecy regarding the settlement. Although actual damages in such a case are normally not taxable, the IRS maintained that the plaintiff had not suffered any injury and that consequently the entire cash settlement could be considered a taxable payment for his sale of secrecy. The Tax Court disagreed, but only in part, holding that tax law looks to the origin of the claim rather than physical evidence to determine whether the award qualifies for tax exclusion. The court did hold, however, "that $80,000 of the settlement proceeds reflected a payment for the settlement’s confidentiality component, making [the plaintiff] Amos liable for taxes on that amount." Psst... The defendant who paid the settlement was Dennis Rodman, then, of the world-champion Chicago Bulls. He also received an 11-game suspension and a $25,000 fine for his actions. Those Sneaky Spammers... It pays to read the fine print and to know who you are dealing with—that’s the lesson to be learned from this item, as gleaned from DM News, a publication of the direct marketing industry that recently crossed this cluttered workspace. The publication reported that at a July 4 press conference, US Senator Charles Schumer, of New York, accused a company of capitalizing on the desire for consumers to have a national "do-not-e-mail" registry. Ethicale-mail.com had gathered 100,000 e-mail addresses from consumers who responded to its offer to create a "do-not-contact" database. Despite the company’s stated intentions, the company’s terms of service (that pesky fine print) did not rule out selling consumer information to anyone, and the company disclaimed responsibility for what other parties might do with the information provided. Rocky Mosele, who previously operated the International Star Registry, a heavily promoted business that peddled the dubious value of a certificate to "name" a star, operates Ethicale-mail.com. Civics and Cyberspace The following came to us via the e-mail newsletter of IVCi, a videoconferencing company. It reports on a controversy in suburban Fort Worth, Texas where a school board member from Carroll, Texas confronted with the dilemma of a long-planned Hawaii vacation and a hastily scheduled but important meeting, asked the board to allow her to participate via a videoconference—at her own expense. The board voted no. An editorial in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram chided the board for its inflexibility: "As a rule, elected officials should be in their seats for public meetings, but videoconferencing is a tool that can be used in rare circumstances. "...In today’s mobile society, it’s easy to imagine a public official who might overuse the videoconferencing privilege and miss being physically present at too many meetings. Voters can correct that mistake at the next election. "If out-of-towners are barred from participating by videoconference, it’s conceivable that the political dynamics of some governmental bodies might lead one faction to set an important issue for a vote at a time when a member of an opposing faction might be out of town. It’s an underhanded way to win, but it happens. Here’s a way to hold that practice in check. "Videoconferencing can be a useful tool. The Carroll School Board and other elected bodies shouldn’t be afraid of it."
|
|
Home | About the Bar | For Members | For the Public | Legal Links | Publications | Online Store New Hampshire Bar Association |
