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Johnson v. Commissioner Case Brief
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Case Brief Summary & Legal Analysis
tl;dr: A professional basketball player contracted his services to his personal corporation, but his NBA team refused to contract with the entity. The court held the player, not the corporation, was the true earner of the income because the team contracted directly with him.
Legal Significance: This case establishes a key two-part test for determining whether a personal service corporation or its employee is the true earner of income, emphasizing the necessity of a contract between the corporation and the service-recipient.
Johnson v. Commissioner Law School Study Guide
Use this case brief structure for your own legal analysis. Focus on the IRAC methodology to excel in law school exams and cold calls.
Case Facts & Court Holding
Key Facts & Case Background
Petitioner Charles Johnson, a professional basketball player for the San Francisco Warriors, entered into an agreement with Presentaciones Musicales, S.A. (PMSA), a Panamanian corporation. This agreement granted PMSA the exclusive right to his services in professional sports in exchange for a fixed monthly payment. PMSA then licensed these rights to EST International Ltd. (EST). Johnson’s representative attempted to have the Warriors contract directly with PMSA for Johnson’s services, but the team adamantly refused. The Warriors insisted on, and Johnson signed, a standard NBA Uniform Player Contract directly with the team. Subsequently, Johnson executed an assignment of contract rights, directing the Warriors to pay his salary to EST. The Warriors complied, though they continued to issue Form W-2s in Johnson’s name and withheld taxes from the payments. On his tax returns, Johnson reported only the monthly payments he received from EST, not the full salary paid by the Warriors. The Commissioner determined that the entire salary paid by the Warriors constituted income to Johnson.
Court Holding & Legal Precedent
Issue: Is a professional athlete, who has an exclusive service contract with a personal corporation, taxable on the full salary paid by his team when the team contracts for his services directly with him and not with the corporation?
Yes. The full amounts paid by the Warriors for the petitioner’s services Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse
IRAC Legal Analysis
Complete IRAC Analysis for Higher Grades
IRAC (Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion) is the exact format professors want to see in your exam answers. Our exclusive Flash-to-Full briefs combine holding, analysis, and rule statements formatted to match what A+ students produce in exams. These structured briefs help reinforce the essential legal reasoning patterns expected in law school.
Legal Issue
Is a professional athlete, who has an exclusive service contract with a personal corporation, taxable on the full salary paid by his team when the team contracts for his services directly with him and not with the corporation?
Conclusion
This case provides a critical framework for analyzing the tax consequences of Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure do
Legal Rule
Income must be taxed to the one who earns it. For a Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolo
Legal Analysis
The court applied the assignment of income doctrine articulated in *Lucas v. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit i
Flash-to-Full Case Opinions
Flash Summary
- A professional athlete is taxed on his full salary, even if