Kreisman Law Offices Professional Corporation
Carol Keiser-Long’s claim for decreased earning capacity from an automobile accident she was involved in presented a question about her compensatory damages. She was never salaried or received dividends from her solely owned cattle-brokering business. The company, C-Bar, was set up as a separate entity, a C corporation.
She was the sole employee and left all of the profits in the company as retained earnings. She thought that the retained earnings would act as a retirement account that she would eventually start drawing on as income when she quit working. Retained earnings are generally taxable at the end of each calendar or fiscal year.
The car belonging to defendant Kirk Owens, alleged to have run through a stop sign while intoxicated, broadsided Keiser-Long’s vehicle on a rural road in Champaign County, Ill., and admitted liability before trial.