Bhaumik

A creditor of a bankrupt corporation sought to recover payment in state court from an individual based on an alter ego theory of liability. The individual argued that the alter ego claim belonged to the bankruptcy estate, because it alleged general injuries to the corporation that could establish a basis of liability for all corporate debts, and therefore, the state court action should be stayed. The trial court allowed the action to proceed to trial and found in favor of the creditor. On appeal, the individual contends that the action should have been stayed and the trial court erred at trial.

In the published portion of this opinion, we conclude that the creditor’s action to hold the individual liable as an alter ego for a creditor’s substantive causes of action against a bankrupt corporation was not the property of the bankruptcy estate. In the unpublished portion of this opinion, we conclude that the record on appeal is inadequate to enable review of the contentions of error at trial. We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff and respondent Shaoxing County Huayue Import & Export delivered textile products to International Trade Center Ltd. (ITC). ITC…