Opinion

Crawford v. American National Petroleum Co.

  • 2000 La.App. 1 Cir. 1063
  • 805 So. 2d 371
  • 2001 La. App. LEXIS 3139
  • 2001 WL 1659329
Court
Louisiana Court of Appeal
Filed
Dec 28, 2001
Status
Published
Author
Ifitzsimmons
On the bench
Fitzsimmons, Guidry, Ifitzsimmons, Parro
Cited by
10 cases
Authority
More cited than 0.8%

The opinion

[ iFITZSIMMONS, Judge,

concurring, with reasons.

Whether Louisiana law allows recovery of a punitive damage award for tortious interference is not the focus of this ease. The fact that the award could not have been validly or legally earned in Louisiana does not in itself exempt the income from the definition of taxable income. Illegally acquired income can be taxed. Indeed, the failure to declare and pay tax on illegal transactions can be the basis for a criminal investigation and conviction. Rutkin v. United States, 343 U.S. 130 , 72 S.Ct. 571 , 96 L.Ed. 833 (1952).

The pertinent inquiry is whether the punitive damages income was earned or derived from sources in Louisiana and thus qualified as a Louisiana apportionment. See La.R.S. 47:241, 287.11, 287.67, *386 & 287.69. After a review of the facts of this particular case, the record reasonably supports a finding that punitive damages in this case did not derive from and cannot be attributed to a source in Louisiana. The punitive damages award arose from wrongful conduct that occurred in Texas, where the business between the two litigants was transacted. Thus, I respectfully concur.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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