THE STORY OF BATMAN v COMMISSIONER

Eli Rankin|The Advocate

There have always been funny court cases in history, which can be split into genres of their own.

There are cases where the Supreme Court had to argue about something controversial (or silly)… such as whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable in Nix V. Hedden. There are cases where the courts had to decide about something really trivial, such as in PGA Tour Inc., v. Martin (with an Oregon connection) where the Court had to, in the words of the late Justice Antonia Scalia, “[has to] decide ‘What is golf?’”

And then there are the cases that merely have funny names, as when a prisoner tried to sue Satan, in Mayo v. Satan.

Needless to say, Batman V. Commissioner falls within the third genre of having an amusing name.

Ray L. Batman and Edith G. Batman v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, or simply, Batman V. Commissioner, dealt with the concerns of possible tax dodging by the Internal Revenue Service when Ray Batman tried to transfer a portion of his farming assets to his 14-year-old son and make him his business partner. Batman took the steps he thought would make his son a formal partner. Instead, the IRS determined the partnership to be illegitimate and therefore assessed the Batmans nearly $10,000 each in extra income tax for 1944-1945 ($145,000 each by today’s standard, adjusting for inflation).

While the lawsuit was filed in 1945, the case was not heard until 1950 in the United States Tax Court. Interestingly, the court case was noticed by Supreme Court Justice Eugene Black, who gave a memorandum opinion (unofficial opinion) that supported the IRS.

The senior Batman argued that there was an oral agreement between him and the IRS that would allow for the legitimate acknowledgment of his son as a partner. Losing this initial case, Batman appealed to the 5th U.S. appellate court (its jurisdiction mostly covering Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas). After listening to Batman’s argument, the three-judge panel unanimously agreed with Justice Black that the partnership was fraudulent.

Batman tried to appeal to the Supreme Court but was ultimately denied, ending the case permanently.

While the real court case of Batman V. Commissioner did not feature Bruce Wayne litigating against Commissioner Gordon from the DC Comics franchise, it ultimately remains as a famous case with an unintentionally amusing name that suggests a fictional lawsuit. It appears that DC Comics never featured a plot where Bruce Wayne sued Commissioner Gordon.

However, besides this notable occurrence, another amazing coincidence occurred during the run of the 1960s television series, “Batman.” In the first season there was an episode named “Hi Diddle Riddle,” which features a lawsuit between Batman and the supervillain Riddler. While in the real-life court case, Batman was the plaintiff who litigated over tax money, Batman in the 1960s show was the defendant, being accused of false arrest.

While there is no evidence suggesting an intentional connection between Ray Batman and DC Comics, it’s still comical for many to hear the strange connection between a farmer and a vigilante.