Joseph Warren Sheehy
Judge Sheehy no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Sheehy decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
He treated a taxpayer's reliance on a competent local adviser as reasonable cause for failing to file estimated-tax declarations.
“plaintiff’s failure to file declarations of estimated tax for the years 1952 and 1953, and each of them, was due to reasonable cause and not to wilful neglect.”
He looked past related-party form to whether transactions were genuine, commercially supported sales with ordinary creditor protections.
“the fact that parties might enter into a transaction for the purpose of minimizing or avoiding taxes which might otherwise accrue does not of itself make a transaction something different from what it purports to be.”
He applied res judicata when the same land title and deed had already been conclusively determined between parties or their privies.
“we have here present *63all of the essentials necessary to the application of the doctrine of res judicata”
Procedural preferences
He required a timely administrative refund claim before allowing a tax overpayment to operate as a bankruptcy setoff.
“The filing of the claim and the filing of the claim within the time prescribed by the statute are conditions precedent to any duty or obligation on the part of the Government”
He directed parties to use discovery, rather than a more definite statement, to obtain factual detail beyond notice pleading.
“details such as those sought by the motion for more definite statement are to be obtained by the deposition-discovery processes”
When a tax assessment was invalid, he declined to have the court perform the taxing authority's reassessment function.
“a court in a suit for taxes has no authority or power to revalue and *570reassess property for taxation where the assessment is found to be invalid.”
Cautions
Competitive injury alone did not support relief without invasion of a recognized legal or equitable right.
“The only injury of which Plaintiff can be heard in a judicial tribunal to complain is the invasion of some legal or equitable right.”
A claimant seeking benefits under a statutory insurance program had to satisfy the program's express continuation conditions.
“To give the provisions of said Subsection (d) (3) (A) any other interpretation, particularly the interpretation contended for by plaintiff, would require the Court to disregard the express provisions of said subsection.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“This motion is well taken and will be granted.”
“Petitioner’s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus as to the respondent Kearney is wholly without merit and will be denied.”
“Judgment will be entered for the plaintiff for the sum of $1,385.52 plus interest thereon at the rate of six per cent per annum from June 19, 1956.”
“The gratuitous insurance extended Anderson having expired one year subsequent to September 30, 1944 and long prior to Anderson’s death the plaintiff is not entitled to recover herein.”
“the Plaintiffs are entitled to recover herein that amount of the deficiency assessment and interest paid by the Plaintiffs that is attributable to the erroneous action by the Internal Revenue Service”
“the Estate of James F. Weed, deceased, is entitled to recover of and from the Defendant herein the sum of' $4,491.90 with interest thereon as provided, by law from August 23, 1947 until paid and costs of suit”
“she is entitled to recover from the Defendant herein the sum of $3,236.77, with interest as provided by law”
“An order will be entered herein reversing and setting aside the order entered by the Referee on December 17, 1953 reducing petitioner’s claim No. 86 to $874.91”
“The motion of the Defendant Page requesting an order requiring that Joseph H. Redfern, Plaintiff’s husband, be made a party herein will be granted”
“the motion of the Defendant Collins requesting a dismissal of this suit will be denied at this time.”
“The motions to strike that portion of Paragraph 4 of Plaintiff’s complaint wherein Plaintiff alleges the provisions of Subsections (a) and (b) of Section 68, Article 6701d, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St. of Texas will each be overruled.”
“the motion of Defendant Collins to strike that portion of Paragraph 2 of Plaintiff’s complaint wherein Plaintiff alleges the law of Colorado and her rights thereunder will be sustained.”
“The motion for a more definite statement of the Defendant Page requesting an order requiring the Plaintiff to state either her claimed life expectancy or her age at the time of the collision in question will be denied.”
“Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment will be overruled”
“the motion of C. C. Leach and wife, Beatrice Leach, for summary judgment will be in all things granted.”
“judgment will be entered for the defendant to the effect that plaintiff take nothing of and from the defendant”
“Plaintiff will be granted an injunction perpetually enjoining the defendants and each of them from selling or in anywise disposing of any of the lands described in plaintiff’s complaint under the execution issued by the Clerk of this court on October 24, 1950”
“The relief prayed for by the defendant Hughes in his cross action herein will be in all things denied”
“the Plaintiff has established title-to only a 4708%ooooo undivided interest, in the tract of land in controversy and is entitled to recover of and from the-Defendants, jointly and severally, title to that undivided interest and no more. All other relief prayed for by the Plaintiff should be denied.”
“The preliminary injunction as prayed for by Plaintiff will be denied”
“this cause will be in all things dismissed.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
No case-level docket records are available for this mid-twentieth-century tenure, so the profile makes no claim about caseload mix or case duration.
A historical record
Judge Sheehy 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.