635 (1950), was a case in which the United States Tax Court ruled that Midland Empire Packing Company was permitted to deduct the costs of lining its basement walls and floor.

On its tax returns for 1943, Midland deducted the $4,868.81 amount it paid for repairs on the theory, inter alia, it was an ordinary and necessary business expense under section 23(a) [now 162(a)] of the Internal Revenue Code.

In an opinion by Judge Arundell, the U.S. Tax Court held that the expenditure of $4,868.81 for lining the basement walls and floor was a repair and therefore was deductible as an ordinary and necessary business expense.

The court cited Illinois Merchants Trust Co., Executor,[3] where it found that a "repair is an expenditure for the purpose of keeping the property in an ordinarily efficient operating condition.

On the other hand, depreciable capital expenditures are those "for replacements, alterations, improvements, or additions which prolong the life of the property, increase its value, or make it adaptable to a different use.

Judge Arundell, in rejecting this argument, quoted Welch v. Helvering,[6] noting that "ordinary in this context does not mean that the payments must be habitual or normal in the sense that the same taxpayer will have to make them often.