Court Opinion

ID: 9454604
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 18:51:42.25678+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:34:11.626103
License: Public Domain

ORDER DENYING PETITION FOR REHEARING
In support of the petition for rehearing, Pittman asserts that this court misinterpreted the nature of his position on appeal. It is suggested that the essence of his argument, and the distinction misunderstood by the court, is that his unsupported oral assertion to the Board that “nothing has changed” constituted current information which incorporated by reference the details of the various letters and other memoranda already in his file. Citing Dickinson v. United States and Fore v. United States, he maintains that this current information established a prima facie case which could not be overcome in the absence of affirmative information to the contrary.
Although we did not misconstrue appellant’s contention and consider it adequately disposed of in the main opinion, we deem it advisable to add one brief point in elaboration. We do not read Dickinson, Fore or any of the other pertinent decisions to hold, as is asserted by appellant, that if the claimant makes an uncorroborated oral assertion that he is engaged in full time ministry, and no conflicting evidence is taken by *639the Board, then the ministerial exemption must be granted. In both Dickinson and Fore there were letters from church officials and other documentary indicia tending to supply objective facts to substantiate the registrant’s claim. As stated in Fore: “In considering whether appellant presented a prima facie case for fitting within the ministerial exemption only the basic facts of appellant’s case should be considered and not expressions of intent or conclusionary statements.” 395 F.2d at 552. Consequently, the registrant’s refusal to supply the Board with certain requested current information, and his reliance instead upon a bald assertion that nothing had changed during the lengthy interim since his prior classification, did not rise to the level of a prima facie showing and did not result in the Board’s lacking a basis in fact for its action. Cf. United States v. Hogans, 253 F.Supp. 409, 411 (E.D. N.Y.1966), aff’d 369 F.2d 359 (2d Cir. 1966); United States v. Mohammed, 288 F.2d 236, 242 (7th Cir. 1961) cert. den. 368 U.S. 820, 82 S.Ct. 37, 7 L.Ed.2d 26. Thus, the unsupported oral assertion was inadequate; the outdated information in the file was immaterial; and the two taken together were insufficient to establish a prima facie case for exemption.
Petition for rehearing denied.