Day

Action was brought by plaintiff against the defendant corporation and certain of its stockholders for the recovery of the reasonable value of services alleged to have been rendered as an income tax expert in resisting a claim of the government for additional income taxes for the years. 1918 to 1922 inclusive, which services, it is alleged in the first count, resulted in a saving to the defendant corporation of the sum of $32,820.78, and in the second count a similar saving of $45,167.84. The case was tried before a jury. It appears that plaintiff was employed for several years by the government as an internal revenue agent and income tax auditor; that he was asked by his department to investigate the defendant corporation to see if the proper amount of income tax had been paid for the years 1918 to 1922 inclusive; that he first met the secretary of the corporation November 9, 1923, at which time the plaintiff had already sent in his resignation to the government, effective November 30, 1923; that he began such investigation, which “had reached only the preliminary stage” when his resignation became effective and he was relieved by an agent named Sullivan, thereafter entering…