Landa v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Astin

BAZELON, Circuit Judge.

The only question we need decide on these appeals is whether the Tax Court erred in refusing “to ascribe probative weight to oral testimony” explaining or contradicting the terms of certain written agreements. These agreements between Mr. Landa 1 and his former wife, Mrs. Astin, 2 were made in connection with their separation and in contemplation of a divorce. They described certain $200 monthly payments, in dispute here, as installments of principal and interest on a $30,-000 note evidencing an “indebtedness * * * incurred after their marriage and while they were…