Hercules Powder Company v. The United States

I do not agree that defendant is barred by collateral estoppel from relitigating the issued decided in Hercules Powder Co. v. United States, 180 F.Supp. 363, 149 Ct.Cl. 77 (1960). This suit involves a different tax year. In such a case, the Supreme Court has told us, the doctrine of collateral estoppel is inapplicable if (a) “the relevant facts in the two cases are separable, even though they he similar or identical” (Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Sunnen, 333 U.S. 591, 601, 68 S.Ct. 715, 721 (1948), emphasis added); or (b) there has been “a change or development in the controlling legal…