Hansen
Hansen v. MacDonald Meat Co.
Opinion
Lead Opinion
This is an action by a bankruptcy trustee to recover money paid to a creditor. The trustee, Thomas Hansen, argues that the payment in question was a preferential transfer and is avoidable under the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. § 547 (b). The bankruptcy court granted the trustee’s motion for summary judgment and avoided the payment. The district court affirmed. The creditor, MacDonald Meat Company, appeals, alleging that the transaction was not a preferential transfer because no “interest of the debtor in property” was involved. For the reasons stated below, we affirm the decision of the district court.
*315 BACKGROUND
The following facts were found by the district court and are not in dispute. Kemp Pacific Fisheries owed MacDonald Meat Company over $115,000 for foodstuffs purchased by Kemp. Kemp had a line of credit with Philip Morris, and obtained a $484,657 loan to pay off a portion of the MacDonald debt and other operating expenses.
On February 15, 1989, Kemp Pacific Fisheries wrote MacDonald a cheek for $70,000. The check was honored by Seafirst the same day. The $484,567 loan from Philip Morris was deposited into the Seafirst account on February 17, 1989.