Opinion ID: 3050656
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Mercury Solar PTO

Text: In 1994, HEH purported to transfer its interest in the Mer- 2 During the period in question, Amanda Porter used a number of other names, including Amanda McKeough, Amanda J. McKeough-Porter, Amanda Jane Porter, Mandy Wildman, Mandy Porter, Amanda Jane Howat, and Amanda Sparkman. For simplicity’s sake, we will follow the convention adopted in the Tax Court’s opinion of referring to her as “Porter.” SPARKMAN v. CIR 16173 cury Solar business to Mercury Solar PTO, styled in its formation documents a “Pure Trust Organization,” in exchange for units in Mercury Solar. Except for designating Mercury Solar a “Pure Trust Organization” and entrusting “exclusive management and control” of the entity with a “Fiduciary Owner” rather than a “Trustee,” the formation documents are in almost all respects identical to those of HEH. “J. Clark Atkinson,” also not otherwise identified in the record, was initially named as “Fiduciary Owner,” but in 1998 Porter was appointed “Trustee,” and Atkinson resigned as Fiduciary Owner. The precise ownership of Mercury Solar PTO is unclear and disputed. The formation documents call for 100 beneficial units, which were initially given to HEH in return for the Mercury Solar business. These appear to have been immediately transferred to Sparkman. The record, stipulated to by both parties, contains a “Certificate Record” that records the assignment of one share each to William Bright, William Montgomery, and Myron Thompson. In testimony before the Tax Court, Porter described the first two entries of assignment as “administrational error[s]” but testified that the assignment to Thompson, an employee of Mercury Solar, was valid. According to Porter, 50 units are owned by HEH, 49 by Sparkman, and one by Thompson. When Thompson himself was asked during testimony whether he was “aware that [he] had a share,” he responded, “I am now,” but said that he did not know “what happened to the share.”