Opinion ID: 497965
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Facts relating to Antone Construction Company's residence

Text: 6 Antone was incorporated in South Carolina in March, 1977. A South Carolina attorney prepared the articles of incorporation, listing himself as the registered agent and his own law office as the required registered address for the corporation. The incorporation was done at the request of an attorney in Sharon, Pennsylvania on behalf of Anthony J. Frank of Hermitage, Pennsylvania. Anthony Frank apparently set up Antone upon the recommendation of his brother, Frederick Frank; while Antone was being formed, Frederick became a resident of Columbia, South Carolina. Anthony Frank, whose Pennsylvania residence remained undisturbed, was also the President and sole stockholder of Brimar Construction Company at the time of Antone's incorporation; Brimar's principal executive office was in Sharon, Pennsylvania. 7 The directors and officers of Antone were Anthony Frank (president and treasurer-comptroller), Frederick Frank, and Bernard Rosen (an employee of Brimar). Antone was involved as a subcontractor in construction projects in six states, including South Carolina but not including Pennsylvania. The first project it undertook was in Columbia, South Carolina. There, as at its other construction sites, Antone maintained a project office where records related to the project were kept. Frederick Frank maintained an office in his home in South Carolina in addition to the project office, but the home office was discontinued when he left Antone in October, 1978. The tax liens at issue here were filed after the home office was closed and after the South Carolina project office trailer had been moved to Virginia; the sole remaining address for Antone in South Carolina was the law office of the registered agent, where Antone never conducted any business or kept any records. All executive decisions (as compared with day-to-day decisions made by managers at each project site) for Antone were apparently made by Anthony Frank in Pennsylvania or wherever he happened to be. 8 Checking accounts were maintained at a bank near each project to pay suppliers and employees. Payments for work were received at the local office but forwarded to Anthony Frank in Pennsylvania. Anthony Frank also arranged to send money from Pennsylvania as needed to replenish local checking accounts. Antone also had checking accounts at a bank in Sharon, Pennsylvania; the mailing address for Antone for the accounts was P.O. Box 1278, Sharon, Pennsylvania. Antone's registered agent in South Carolina used the same Pennsylvania post office box to send materials to Antone, addressed in care of a Brimar employee. 9 Antone and Brimar filed a consolidated federal income tax return for the taxable period ending January 31, 1978, prepared by a Sharon, Pennsylvania accounting firm using information supplied by Anthony Frank. Antone was listed as Brimar's subsidiary on that return, and Antone's address was given as Box 1278, Sharon, Pennsylvania. The same address was given by Antone in its Employer's Monthly Federal Tax Returns filed with the IRS in February, March, and April, 1979. 10 The only known meeting of the Antone Board of Directors was held on October 9, 1978 at Brimar's offices in Sharon, Pennsylvania. At that meeting, Anthony Frank's wife and mother-in-law replaced Frederick Frank and Bernard Rosen as directors of Antone. Anthony Frank remained the third director; his wife also became an officer of Antone. 11 In December, 1978, Antone filed an application for a certificate of authority to operate as a foreign corporation within Pennsylvania. The address given as Antone's proposed Pennsylvania registered office was 155 Snyder Road, Sharon (Hermitage), Pennsylvania--Brimar's office address. Brooks stresses that the address given for the principal office of Antone is 1200 First National Bank, Richland County, South Carolina and argues that the listing should be dispositive on the issue of Antone's residence because it is a public record. However, the form merely requested the address of its principal office in the state or county of incorporation, and the address given in response is thus not by necessity the corporation's principal executive office for purposes of tax lien filing. On January 5, 1979, the Pennsylvania Department of State issued the requested certificate of authority listing the Snyder Road address (Brimar's offices) as the address of Antone's registered office in Pennsylvania. 12 There is some dispute about the actual ownership of Antone; Brimar apparently did not follow through on a stock purchase agreement, and the stock was then purchased by Anthony Frank's mother-in-law. The stock may have been owned instead by Anthony and Mary Frank's children. Recordkeeping was disorganized; it appears that Antone's business activities petered out in 1979. On October 6, 1980, Antone was dissolved by the state of South Carolina. Anthony Frank was killed in a car accident in February, 1985, after interrogatories had been answered but apparently before any deposition was taken. It is clear from the record, however, that Anthony Frank controlled Antone and made all executive decisions, including deciding what projects to bid on. 13