Harris

I. Factual and Procedural History

In July 1999, appellant Harris filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy relief under Chapter 7 of the United States Bank- ruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of California. The bankruptcy court appointed appel- 16662 IN THE MATTER OF HARRIS lee Sandra Wittman (“Wittman”) as trustee of the bankruptcy estate (the “estate”) shortly thereafter.

In March 2000, Wittman filed an adversary proceeding against Harris and his wife, Mrs. Harris, for fraudulent con- veyance. Wittman’s complaint alleged the transfer from Har- ris to Mrs. Harris in June 1999—the month before he filed his voluntary bankruptcy petition—of a 1957 Mercedes-Benz, as well as a storage business and related property called Alpine Personal Storage (the “Alpine property”), was voidable and recoverable by the estate.

Trustee Wittman then entered into an Agreement for Use and Assignment of Interests and Prosecution of Claims (the “Assignment Agreement”) with appellee Jack Swain, an unse- cured creditor of the estate, which assigned to Swain the right to prosecute the adversary proceeding to set aside the alleged fraudulent conveyance. In…