# Griffith v. Commissioner

> United States Tax Court · February 28, 1980 · 73 T.C. 933

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/4484169

## Case

- **Full name:** J. K. Griffith and Erma Griffith v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Respondent Curtis C. Griffith and Cynthia A. Griffith v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
- **Court:** United States Tax Court
- **Decided:** February 28, 1980
- **Citations:** 73 T.C. 933; 1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 178
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Nims
- **Judges:** Simpson,Fay,Quealy,Nims,Sterrett,Drennen,Wilbur
- **Cited by:** 13 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/4484169

## Opinion text

Nims, J., concurring: Although I agree with the reasoning and conclusion of the majority, I would like to add a cautionary note for those who might be tempted to rely too literally upon the fact pattern approved of in Porterfield v. Commissioner, 73 T.C. 91 (1979), and discussed in the majority opinion. In Porterfield, this Court focused on the intent of the parties and held that payments in escrow intended and regarded solely as security for promissory notes are not payments for purposes of section 453.
The majority now implicitly eschews reliance on the Porter-field mode of analysis by not delving into the intent of the parties. Instead, the majority apprises the substance of the transaction in an objective light. In my view, that is the proper approach to these cases, and the continued vitality of Porterfield as a precedent would appear to be in doubt.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/4484169. Public record. Not legal advice.