Opinion ID: 566860
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: August 5--December, 1985

Text: 31 The government strongly urges that the situation at All Pro changed significantly after August 5. In addition to being an account signatory and having the job title of office manager, appellant became an authorized signatory on Littge's client payroll account, was given corporate borrowing authority, signed substantially all the checks, and remitted two corporate payroll tax payments. The testimony indicates that Payne was physically absent much of the time, and there is some dispute about whether he remained in control of the day-to-day activities during the period in question. Littge testified he thought Kenagy and appellant were running things at All Pro after August 5. The remainder of the testimonial evidence indicates that Payne still controlled things even when he was not in the office by calling in and leaving notes. 32 Looking solely at the physical evidence, we cannot say that the district court clearly erred in its fact findings or abused its discretion by denying attorney fees. The paper evidence at least suggests that appellant had the status (office manager and check writer), authority (authorized signatory and borrower, actual bill payer), and duty (tax payment remitter) to avoid payroll tax payment default. The circumstances support an inference that if Payne was not in control, she and Kenagy were. The critical evidence is the testimonial evidence, and the district court was in a better position to judge the credibility of witnesses than are we. If the court believed Littge to be credible and the other witnesses less credible, it would be entitled to weigh their testimony accordingly. 33 We believe the district court could have concluded that Littge's testimony, when coupled with the physical evidence, was enough to substantially justify the government's position. The district court was in the best position to evaluate the critical witness testimony, and in this case we are compelled to defer to its judgment.