Carefree Ranch, Inc. v. Lenard (In re Lenard)

ALVIN B. RUBIN, Circuit Judge:

Representing an unsecured creditor of a bankrupt debtor, the bankruptcy trustee seeks to nullify two transfers of a ranch and to return the property to the debtor’s estate to satisfy the creditor’s claim. The bankruptcy court, applying Louisiana law, found that (1) the first transfer, from the debtor and her husband to a corporation owned and controlled by their daughter, was a simulation; (2) the second transfer, ostensibly from the corporation to a third party, was therefore in reality from the debtor; and (3) the second transfer consequently increased the…