Bartels v. Birmingham’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 federal appellate · 1 district · 1 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 10 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““It is the contention of the Government and the intervenors that these contracts (form B) are conclusive of an employer-employee relationship. I cannot agree. It may bé an element that may be considered by the fact finder if of any assistance in determining what is the true relationship. “The leading case on the subject of the conclusive effect of such contracts is perhaps Griffiths v. Commissioner, 308 U.S. 355, 358 , 60 S.Ct. 277, 278 , 84 L.Ed. 319 , wherein that court said: ‘Legislative words are not inert, and derive vitality from the obvious purposes at which they are aimed * * *. Taxes cannot be escaped “by anticipatory arrangements and contracts however skillfully devised * * ’ And in Moline Properties v. Commissioner, 319 U.S. 436, 439 , 63 S.Ct. 1132, 1134 , 87 L.Ed. 1499 , it is said: ‘In general, in matters relating to the revenue, the corporate form may be disregarded where it is a sham or unreal.’ And there are authorities holding that, in tax matters, the courts are not interested in the terminology of the contract but that they look to the true situation to see whether there is in fact employer-employee relationship or the relationship of an independent contractor.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Nebraska Nat. Hotel Co. v. O'Malley