CHARLES OKONKWO and CECILIA OKONKWO v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
CHARLES OKONKWO and CECILIA
OKONKWO,
Petitioners - Appellants,
v.
COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL
REVENUE,
Respondent - Appellee.
No. 16-71020
Tax Ct. No. 23496-13
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from a Decision of the
United States Tax Court
Submitted December 7, 2017**
Pasadena, California
Before: REINHARDT and NGUYEN, Circuit Judges, and BLOCK,*** District
Judge.
Appellants Charles Okonkwo and Cecilia Okonkwo seek review of the Tax
Court’s finding that the Okonkwos were not entitled to certain claimed deductions
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
*** The Honorable Frederic Block, United States Senior District Judge for
the Eastern District of New York, sitting by designation.
FILED
DEC 11 2017
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

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on their second house. Reviewing for clear error, see Christensen v. CIR, 786 F.2d
1382, 1383 (9th Cir. 1986), we affirm.
The Okonkwos’ appeal rests on one contention: that the Tax Court erred in
finding that their daughter did not pay fair rent while residing in their second
house. Specifically, the Okonkwos argue that in addition to paying $2,000 per
month in cash, which is substantially below market value, their daughter also paid
rent in services. However, the evidence in the record shows that the Okonkwos’
daughter provided minimal services, if any, to the Okonkwos during her residence
in their second house. Because the Tax Court’s finding that the Okonkwos’
daughter did not pay fair rent is “plausible in light of the record viewed in its
entirety,” we must affirm. See Wolf v. CIR, 4 F.3d 709, 712–13 (9th Cir. 1993).
AFFIRMED.

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