United States First Circuit

Order approving a bankruptcy trustee's stipulation for waiver and release of claims arising out of a bankrupt company's fraudulent transfer is affirmed where: 1) creditors only have standing to pursue claims for fraudulent conveyance during bankruptcy proceedings when a trustee or debtor in possession unjustifiably fails to pursue the claim, which was not the case here; 2) there is no breach of fiduciary duty to creditors that is not derivative of a breach to the corporation; and 3) fraudulent conveyance claims pursued against an alter ego or successor corporation are derivative in nature, and therefore the property of the bankruptcy estate.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/01/2007
• Published 03/01/2007

Judges

• TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge., Before TORRUELLA and LYNCH, Circuit Judges, and WOODCOCK, JR., District Judge.

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• T. Mark Morley, for appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Harold B. Murphy, with whom Christian J. Urbano and Hanify & King, P.C., were on brief, for appellees Firestar Software, Inc. and Kenneth Lord., Joseph G. Butler, with whom Barron & Stadfeld, P.C., was on brief, for appellee Joseph G. Butler in his capacity as Chapter 7 Trustee of the Estate of Ontos, Inc., Eric P. Heichel, with whom Eiseman Levine Lehrhaupt & Kakoyiannis, P.C., was on brief, for appellees Firestar Software, Inc., Kenneth Lord, Vennworks, LLC, Amphion Ventures, Robert J. Bertoldi, and Richard C.E. Morgan.