Palmer F. Meek and Martha A. Meek, His Wife v. United States

This is an appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Taxpayer-appellant sought to exclude from his income $1,800 of the payments received from the Maricopa County General Hospital while a medical intern, contending that the funds were excludable from gross income as a fellowship grant pursuant to I.R.C. § 117. The Commissioner disallowed the exclusion, and after the Internal Revenue Service denied a claim for a refund, taxpayer-appellant filed a complaint in district court. The district court granted the government’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the action on the grounds that the record was complete and that the facts clearly entitled the government to judgment as a matter of law. Taxpayer appeals. Jurisdiction is conferred on this court by 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We affirm.

I. FACTS

Appellant Dr. Meek received a medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1971 and served as a medical intern at the Maricopa County General Hospital (Hospital) in Phoenix, Arizona, from July 1,1971 through June 31, 1972, for which he received $9,526.40 from the Hospital.

Dr. Meek was not a candidate for a degree while participating in…