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In re: TRAILER SOURCE, INC., Debtor. _____________________________________ HYUNDAI TRANSLEAD, INC., Appellee, v. JACKSON TRUCK & TRAILER REPAIR, INC.; JAMES A. HARRELL; RALEIGH J. WILLIAMS; MARK LAZARUS, Appellants. |
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Tennessee at Nashville.
No. 06-00573—Aleta Arthur Trauger, District Judge.
Argued: June 5, 2008
Decided and Filed: February 6, 2009
Before: MERRITT, MOORE, and ROGERS, Circuit Judges.
KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge. In this bankruptcy case, Appellants Jackson Truck & Trailer Repair, Inc., James A. Harrell, Raleigh J. Williams, and Mark Lazarus (collectively “the JT&T parties”) appeal the district court’s order granting Appellee Hyundai Translead, Inc. (“Hyundai”) derivative standing to bring an action on behalf of the bankruptcy estate to recover certain assets that Hyundai alleges were fraudulently transferred from the debtor Trailer Source, Inc., to the JT&T parties. We granted permission for an interlocutory appeal on the question of whether a creditor may be granted derivative standing to bring an action pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 544(b) and 550(a) on behalf of the bankruptcy estate for avoidance of fraudulent or preferential transfers in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Hartford Underwriters Insurance Co. v. Union Planters Bank, N.A., 530 U.S. 1 (2000). The JT&T parties also appeal the district court’s order granting Hyundai relief from the automatic stay so that it may proceed in a separate district-court action asserting fraudulent-transfer claims against the JT&T parties to recover the assets allegedly transferred from Trailer Source. The district court reversed contrary orders by the bankruptcy court. Hyundai argues that the JT&T parties lack prudential appellate standing to pursue this appeal. For the reasons explained below, we conclude that the JT&T parties have appellate standing to pursue this appeal; we AFFIRM the district court’s ruling granting Hyundai derivative standing; and we REVERSE the district court’s grant of stay relief to Hyundai.