NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS NOV 15 2018
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
In re: WALLDESIGN, INC., No. 17-55652
Debtor, D.C. No. 8:15-cv-01371-VAP
______________________________
BRIAN WEISS, as Trustee of the MEMORANDUM*
Walldesign Liquidation Trust,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
BELLA CASA PROPERTY SERVICES
LLC,
Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Central District of California
Virginia A. Phillips, Chief Judge, Presiding
Submitted November 6, 2018**
Pasadena, California
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
Before: RAWLINSON and HURWITZ, Circuit Judges, and BOUGH, *** District
Judge.
Bella Casa Property Services appeals a district court order affirming the
bankruptcy court’s grant of summary judgment to Brian Weiss, acting trustee for
Walldesign, Inc. The bankruptcy court found various payments made from a
Walldesign bank account to Bella Casa by Michael Bello, a Walldesign officer,
voidable as fraudulent transfers. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 158(d)(1)
and affirm.
1. It is undisputed that the transfers to Casa Bella were for the benefit of
Bello, not Walldesign, and were not disclosed to corporate management. Nor is
there any doubt that the funds were Walldesign’s. See Matter of Walldesign, Inc.,
872 F.3d 954, 971 (9th Cir. 2017), cert. denied sub nom. Henry v. Weiss, 138 S. Ct.
2575 (2018). They were transferred from an account in Walldesign’s name and
funded with refund checks from Walldesign’s suppliers. The bankruptcy court
therefore did not err in treating the payments as fraudulent transfers. See 11 U.S.C.
§ 548(a); Cal. Civ. Code § 3439.04(a).
2. A fraudulent conveyance can be recovered even from an initial transferee
that acted in good faith. 11 U.S.C. § 550(a)–(b)(1); Cal. Civ. Code § 3439.08(b)(1).
***
The Honorable Stephen R. Bough, United States District Judge for the
Western District of Missouri, sitting by designation.
2
There can be no dispute that Bella Casa was the initial transferee of the funds at
issue. See Walldesign, 872 F.3d at 967.
3. The bankruptcy court did not err in considering declarations summarizing
Walldesign’s financial and bank statements, and documents in the Walldesign
Chapter 11 case docket. See Fed. R. Evid. 1006 (allowing admission of summaries
of voluminous writings).
AFFIRMED.
3