Movitz

MEMORANDUM *

This fraudulent conveyance action arises in connection with the bankruptcy of Fife Symington, an Arizona real estate developer. The bankruptcy trustee, Louis Movitz, sued Stephen Todd, one of Symington’s long-time business associates, under 11 U.S.C. § 544 (b), to recover the value of various economic benefits that Symington had allegedly channeled to Todd before bankruptcy. The district court granted Todd’s motion for summary judgment, concluding that the trustee had failed to make a prima facie showing that Symington ever owned any of the assets in question within the meaning of the relevant state fraudulent transfer laws. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and affirm.

Arizona’s enactment of the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (UFTA) permits an aggrieved creditor to set aside any transaction whereby the debtor has fraudulently disposed of or parted with an interest in anything that he may own. A.R.S. §§ 44-1001(8), (9); 44-1001(1). We do not need to decide just how broadly the transfer provisions may reach in order to conclude that they do not extend to the kind of mere economic leverage that the trustee relies on here. While control over an asset is a…