Carpenter v. Commissioner
United States Tax Court
T.C. Memo. 1966-228 (1966)
Relevant factsFree
Nancy Carpenter (plaintiff) placed her diamond ring in a glass of ammonia to clean it, and her husband William (plaintiff), unaware the ring was there, poured the glass into the sink and ran the garbage disposal, completely destroying the ring; the Carpenters deducted the ring's value as a casualty loss on their taxes, but the Commissioner (defendant) disallowed the deduction, prompting the Carpenters to petition the Tax Court.
IssueFree
Whether, under federal tax law, a loss is deductible as a casualty loss if it results from force to property that the taxpayer is unaware of or unable to prevent.