Thornberry Construction Co. v. United States (576 F.2d 346, 1978)

OPINION

PER CURIAM.

This case comes before the court on defendant’s exceptions to the recommended decision of Trial Judge Harry E. Wood, filed April 7, 1977, pursuant to Rule 134(h), having been submitted on the briefs and oral argument of counsel. Upon consideration thereof, since the court agrees with the trial judge’s recommended decision, as hereinafter set forth, it hereby affirms and adopts the decision as the basis for its judgment in this case . Accordingly, it is concluded that plaintiff is entitled to recover and judgment is entered for plaintiff with the amount thereof to be determined in further proceedings pursuant to Rule 131(c).

OPINION OF TRIAL JUDGE

WOOD, Trial Judge: In this action, plaintiff, a corporation engaged during its fiscal year ended March 31, 1974, in the business of strip mining coal in western Kentucky, sues to recover $90,705 in federal income taxes, plus deficiency interest of $5,666 thereon, paid in consequence of the Internal Revenue Service’s denial of a deduction for depletion claimed by plaintiff on its federal income tax return for the said fiscal year.

The issue is whether plaintiff possessed “an economic interest” in certain coal in place under a February 14, 1973 agreement styled “Coal Mining Lease and Sublease” between American Metal Climax, Inc. (AMAX) and James R. Thornberry, and a March 1, 1973 assignment from James R. Thornberry to plaintiff. If, as plaintiff contends, it had such an interest, it was entitled to a proper deduction for depletion, while if defendant’s contrary argument is valid, the petition should be dismissed. For reasons hereinafter set forth, it is concluded that plaintiff is entitled to recover.

I

From 1963 to 1972, James M. Thornberry (plaintiff’s sole stockholder during the tax year in suit), worked as general manager of Thornberry Construction Company, an unincorporated business owned by his father, James R. Thornberry. During that period, Thornberry Construction Company engaged in, among other things, the construction of haul roads from mines, mine sites, roads and dams, and, during the period 1970-72, in mining operations in southern Indiana. Thornberry Construction Company’s clients included AMAX, and AMAX’s upper management level personnel thus came to know both James R. Thornberry and James M. Thornberry. In early 1973, James M. Thornberry purchased all of the stock of Thornberry Construction Company, Inc., from his father, and became (and was throughout the fiscal year ended March 31, 1974) plaintiffs president and operating manager.

Sometime prior to 1973, James R. Thorn-berry had informed AMAX that if it ever had a block of coal extraneous to its mining operations, he would be interested in leasing the block of coal and operating a mine. On February 14, 1973, AMAX and Mr. Thornberry entered into the “Coal Mining Lease and Sublease” (sometimes hereinafter “the lease”) at the center of this litigation, and shortly thereafter Mr. Thorn-berry made an assignment of the lease to plaintiff. At least in defendant’s view, however, the lease and the assignment must be viewed in the light of precedent facts and circumstances, described hereinafter.

Coal in western Kentucky lies under the surface in beds or seams that are described by numbers. Each seam has distinct British Thermal Unit (BTU) and other quality characteristics. No. 12 coal, a low quality, thick seam coal, overlies no. 11 coal, a medium quality, thick seam coal. While these two seams are usually separated by several feet of limestone, they are always mined together. No. 12 coal normally has a BTU rating of 10,800 to 11,000, while no. 11 coal normally has a BTU rating of about 11,000. No. 9 coal, a substantially better coal with lower ash content, has an average BTU rating of 11,300 to 11,400.

During the fall of 1969, Ayrshire Coal Company (which in October 1969 "merged into and became a division of AMAX) began mining no. 12 and no. 11 coals at the Ayrgem Mine, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Most of the coals mined at the Ayrgem Mine were sold to the Tennessee Valley Authority for delivery to the Paradise Steam Plant, a TVA facility some 10 miles from the Ayrgem Mine. From almost the inception of mining operations at the Ayrgem Mine, AMAX experienced only marginal profitability from such operations because of a low profit realization on its TVA contract. In order to increase the profitability of its Ayrgem mining operations, AMAX sought to, and, commencing in 1970, did, sell a portion of its Ayrgem coals to Mr. Thomas W. Talbert, an independent coal broker.

Mr. Talbert had an agreement with Dairyland Power Cooperative (“Dairy-land”), LaCrosse, Wisconsin, to purchase coal for it each year in and after 1969, and, in effect, resold to Dairyland the Ayrgem coals he purchased from AMAX. While the Talbert-Dairyland agreement did not contain any specific BTU guarantee or requirement, at least some of AMAX’s agreements with Mr. Talbert did contain a BTU rating guarantee (10,500 in 1970, and 10,000 in 1971). In 1971, and in each of the years thereafter through 1974, Mr. Talbert purchased from AMAX 400,000 tons of Ayrgem coals.

For 1973, Mr. Talbert was attempting to furnish to Dairyland coal having an average BTU rating of 10,500. By that time, however, the no. 12 and no. 11 coals produced at the Ayrgem Mine had deteriorated in quality to the point where the Ayrgem blend, with an average BTU rating of only 9,500, was about to reach a noncompetitive position- with other coals available on a BTU basis. AMAX realized that, if it were to continue to sell the Ayrgem blend to Mr. Talbert, an upgrading in quality was necessary. The only way the Ayrgem blend could be upgraded was to blend it with a better quality coal.

For several years prior to 1973, AMAX had owned a seam of no. 9 coal, amounting to more than 2,000,000 tons, adjacent to its Ayrgem Mine. For a number of reasons (including the undesirability of putting a small satellite operation around the Ayrgem Mine, the confusion and labor problems such an operation would cause, a lack of proper equipment with which to strip the no. 9 coal reserve, and a lack of management to supervise the operation), AMAX had determined that it was not economically feasible or practical for it to mine this seam of no. ,9 coal itself, and that determination was, as of 1973, still a valid one from AMAX’s standpoint.

In early 1973, AMAX was well aware of Mr. Talbert’s problems with AMAX’s Ayrgem coals. It knew, too, that unless it took steps designed to result in an upgrading of those coals, Mr. Talbert probably would not accept them in the future because of their inferior BTU quality, and that its own no. 9 coal reserve adjacent to the Ayrgem Mine was the only known available source of high quality coal that could be economically blended with the Ayrgem coals being sold to Mr. Talbert. Since mining the no. 9 coal was, for AMAX, neither economically feasible nor otherwise practical, however, leasing the no. 9 coal to a lessee who would mine it and sell it to Mr. Talbert (and pay AMAX a royalty) made excellent sense from AMAX’s standpoint, since it would permit depletion of the no. 9 coal, allow AMAX to enhance its profit position at the Ayrgem Mine, and also result in AMAX’s receipt of a profit from the mining of the no. 9 coal.

In late January or early February 1973, Mr. Hopper, president of AMAX Coal Company, advised James R. Thornberry, in substance, that AMAX was interested in leasing its no. 9 coal to someone who would mine it and sell to Mr. Talbert a sufficient amount thereof to blend with Ayrgem coals to upgrade the latter. Mr. Thornberry indicated he would be interested in entering into such a transaction. Mr. Hopper told Mr. Thornberry he was sure Mr. Thornberry would be able to sell coal to Mr. Talbert on the basis of a fair deal, and that if Mr. Thornberry could “work out something” with Mr. Talbert, AMAX would lease the no. 9 coal to Mr. Thornberry.

At Mr. Hopper’s invitation, James R. Thornberry and James M. Thornberry then went to AMAX’s office in Indianapolis, Indiana, where they were introduced to, and met separately with, Mr. Talbert. After discussion of Mr. Talbert’s no. 9 coal requirements for a 2-year period (some 800,-000 tons), and with access to the results of geological surveys of AMAX’s no. 9 coal reserve conducted by AMAX prior to January 1973, James M. Thornberry concluded that plaintiff could profitably operate a mine based on what Mr. Talbert indicated he was willing to pay for no. 9 coal at that time.

Prior to February 14, 1973, James M. Thornberry and Mr. Talbert entered into an oral agreement for the sale by plaintiff to Mr. Talbert of approximately 400,000 tons of no. 9 coal per year, for 2 years, at a stated, mutually agreeable, price per ton. The oral agreement included a “cost escalation” provision, but, because coal prices were then relatively stable, possible price increases due to changes in market conditions were neither anticipated nor discussed. AMAX took no part in the negotiations between James M. Thornberry and Mr. Talbert, nor was it even aware of the terms and conditions of the oral agreement between them. In particular, AMAX played no part whatever in the determination of the per ton price Mr. Talbert would pay to plaintiff for coal mined and sold to Mr. Talbert. Thereafter, James R. Thorn-berry and James M. Thornberry advised Mr. Hopper that they had reached an agreement with Mr. Talbert, and that they would like to lease AMAX’s no. 9 coal reserve.

On February 14, 1973, AMAX and James R. Thornberry entered into a “Coal Mining Lease and Sublease” providing, in substance, that AMAX, for a stated consideration, “does hereby lease, sublease and let unto” Mr. Thornberry “all of the Kentucky # 9 Vein or Seam of coal * * * underlying * * * ” 384.4 acres (less 2 acres commonly known as the Wilcox Cemetery) in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, granting during the term of the lease “all of the mining rights and privileges owned * * appurtenant to said premises, and * * * the right to enter onto, under, over, across and through the Kentucky # 9 Coal and the surface and subsurface overlying the same at such points and in such manner as may be necessary or convenient for the purpose of mining all of the Kentucky # 9 Vein of coal hereby leased * * *.”

The lease was for a term ending February 28, 1975, and provided that AMAX would be paid a royalty of 75$ per ton for each ton of no. 9 coal mined, removed, and sold from the leased premises. It contained a “Diligent Operation” clause, provided that mining operations should be performed so as not to interfere with AMAX’s operation of the Ayrgem Mine, and required the lessee to perform reclamation work under the agreement in a manner consistent with such work at the Ayrgem Mine.

Clause (6), the principal if not the sole basis for defendant’s insistence that the lease was “nothing more than a contract to mine coal”, provided' in pertinent part as follows:

(6) Sale of Coal to Tom Talbert. It is expressly agreed by the Lessor and the Lessee that all Kentucky # 9 Coal from the leased premises shall be sold to Tom Talbert. In the event that the coal, for any reason, is not sold to Tom Talbert, then and in such event, the Lessor shall have the option to terminate this Lease without further obligation or liability on the part of either party to the other party hereto * * *.

From AMAX’s standpoint, the basic intent of the lease was to make a sufficient amount of no. 9 coal available to Mr. Talbert, and, had James M. Thornberry not reached an agreement with Mr. Talbert, it is doubtful that AMAX would have leased the no. 9 coal to James R. Thornberry. The record is clear, however, that AMAX had no objection whatever to plaintiff’s sale of no. 9 coal to others, provided Mr. Talbert did not .need it. The record is equally clear that both the oral agreement with Mr. Talbert and the lease were bona fide, arm’s-length transactions, and that the results of the said agreements were to the benefit of all concerned.

On March 1, 1973, James R. Thornberry assigned to plaintiff all of his right, title and interest in and to the lease “until such time as the Assignee has removed 800,000 tons of coal from the property.” Plaintiff agreed, among other things, to make royalty payments to AMAX as prescribed in clause (3), and to sell coal to Mr. Talbert as prescribed in clause (6), of the lease.

Following March 1, 1973, plaintiff began a mining operation on the leased property. It retained an engineering firm to perform certain work required in connection with obtaining a strip mining permit in Kentucky and laying out a mining operation. It bought approximately $900,000 worth of equipment with which to begin strip mining operations. It constructed a haul road and a stockpile area for use in removing coal from the mining area and stockpiling it. It relocated the entrance road to the Wilcox Cemetery (surrounded by no. 9 coal reserve), and also relocated a county road running through the leased property, in order that all of the minable coal on the said property might be removed. It also obtained and paid for a reclamation bond, and secured a strip mining permit.

Plaintiff’s mining development engineering costs, the costs of construction of the haul road and stockpile area, and the cost of relocation of the cemetery entrance road were deducted by plaintiff as current business expenses. Plaintiff’s costs of acquisition of equipment, and its costs for relocation of the county road, were capitalized on its books, and for federal income tax purposes were subject to depreciation deductions in plaintiff’s fiscal year ended March 31, 1974.

During its fiscal year ended March 31, 1974, plaintiff mined, and hauled to its stockpile, approximately 442,000 tons of no. 9 coal. Mr. Talbert’s trucks picked up the coal there and it was transported to the Rochester .Dock where the net weight of the coal was determined and weigh tickets were prepared. Plaintiff’s invoices reflect that, during the said fiscal year, it sold to Mr. Talbert some 442,000 tons of coal, and Mr. Talbert paid plaintiff the amount shown to be due it on the said invoices. AMAX, which received a copy of each weigh ticket, billed plaintiff for the 75