Elmo Pearce Lee
Judge Lee no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Lee decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Lee treated the taxpayer's uncontradicted intent, when consistent with the surrounding circumstances, as controlling evidence of a profit motive.
“The testimony of the taxpayer here is uncontradicted that his intention was and continued to be to make a profit from his farm if possible.”
He treated undisputed evidence of negligent seamanship and causation as sufficient to sustain liability.
“The undisputed evidence leads to the conclusion that the master’s bad seamanship in backwatering the tug was negligence on his part and the proximate cause of the damages.”
Procedural preferences
Lee applied an interest-based test to determine whether an absent party was indispensable.
“the test of indispensability is whether' the absent party’s interest in the subject matter of the litigation is such that no decree can be entered in the case which will do justice between the parties actually before the court without injuriously affecting the rights of the absent party.”
He enforced the exclusive review channel for challenges to emergency price-control orders.
“Neither this court nor the court below has jurisdiction to consider the validity of an administrative officer’s order or his inconsistency or arbitrariness in fixing the rent ceiling for the apartments owned by the defendant.”
Cautions
Lee distinguished restoration of a veteran's prior position from an automatic right to later promotion-based pay.
“Where an employee has no fixed or absolute right to promotion and where his right to promotion depends upon qualifications over and above mere length of service, the employer has fully complied with the terms of the Selective Training and Service Act when he restores the veteran to the same position or one of like seniority and pay which he held at the time of his induction into the service.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the judgment of the Court below, 52 F.Supp. 503, is affirmed.”
“the decisions of the Board of Tax Appeals, 44 B. T.A. 624, are affirmed.”
“The judgments complained of are correct. They are accordingly affirmed.”
“The judgment is set aside, with directions to redetermine the taxes in accordance with this opinion.”
“The judgment appealed from is reversed, and the cause is remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.”
“The judgment appealed from is reversed, and the cause is remanded for further and not inconsistent proceedings.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Not applicable to this circuit-court record.
A historical record
Judge Lee no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.