Court Opinion

ID: 9614560
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 04:26:27.293021+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:03:37.140297
License: Public Domain

MR. JUSTICE HUNT,
dissenting:
The majority holds that as a matter of law jackpot steer-roping contests are a business pursuit. I cannot agree. A business pursuit is characterized by continuity and the existence of a profit motive.
In the case at bar, the steer-roping contests were not held on a regular basis. Three to four were held in the summer of 1976, for example, but only one in the summer of 1980. Throughout this period, Eichhorn continued in his occupation as a State Brand Inspector. While Eichhorn participated in the contests held at his ranch, he did not participate in all the contests held in the area. There is a genuine issue of fact whether this level of activity is “continuous” enough to amount to a business pursuit.
A business pursuit is also characterized by the existence of a profit motive. As the majority correctly points out, it is the motive to realize a profit and not the actual realization of a profit that is the critical factor. All the money Eichhorn collected from the participants in the contests was awarded to the contest winners with the exception of a small amount retained by Eichhorn to cover the cost of feeding the stock. Bleachers were sometimes erected to accommodate spectators, but spectators were never charged admission. While Eichhorn listed the fees he collected and the expenses he incurred from the contests on his income tax returns, the majority’s reliance on this fact is misplaced. Income tax returns are a device to determine the *404amount of tax owned to the government, and nothing more. They are not used to demonstrate financial worth or a profit motive. Had Eichhorn failed to report these items on his income tax return, he would have been in violation of the law. The fact that he did report these items as required by law does not evince a profit motive.
Since this is an appeal from a summary judgment, all reasonable inferences that can be drawn must be drawn in favor of the losing party, Eichhorn. That being the case, there is a genuine question whether Eichhorn was engaged in a business pursuit, characterized by continuity and a profit motive. This question should have been decided by the jury, and not by the trial court upon a motion for summary judgment.
MR. JUSTICE SHEEHY and MR. JUSTICE MORRISON join in the dissent of MR. JUSTICE HUNT.