Nolan R. Wilkes, Jr. v. United States

The government appeals from the district court’s award of attorneys’ fees to the Wilkes Estate. The primary issue on appeal 1 is whether the district court abused its discretion making the award, concluding that the government’s position in the underlying estate tax case was lacking in substantial justification pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 7430(c)(4)(B). We affirm.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Nolan Wilkes, Sr. (“decedent”) died testate on October 26, 1988. A large portion of his estate consisted of 8,327 shares of stock in Suwannee Block and Building Materials Company, which comprised 87% of…