In re: RERI NANILEI SEPTIMO v. DAVID C. FARMER, Chapter 7 Trustee

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
In re: RERI NANILEI SEPTIMO,
Debtor,
RERI NANILEI SEPTIMO,
Appellant,
v.
DAVID C. FARMER, Chapter 7 Trustee,
Appellee.
No. 12-15754
D.C. No. 1:11-cv-00315-DAE-
RLP
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Hawaii
David A. Ezra, District Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted February 19, 2014
Honolulu, Hawaii
Before: HAWKINS, McKEOWN, and BEA, Circuit Judges.
FILED
APR 25 2014
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.

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Chapter 7 debtor Reri Nanilei Septimo appeals a district court order that
affirmed a bankruptcy court order, which compelled Septimo to cooperate with the
chapter 7 trustee of Septimo’s estate (the “Trustee”).
Septimo scheduled her residence as real property on Schedule A to her
voluntary petition for bankruptcy and claimed an exemption for her residence. The
Trustee objected to the exemption, and the bankruptcy court sustained the
Trustee’s objection. The bankruptcy court discharged Septimo pursuant to 11
U.S.C. § 727.
The Trustee planned to transfer Septimo’s home, which was part of the
estate. Septimo denied the realtor for the bankruptcy estate access to her home.
The Trustee moved the bankruptcy court for an order to compel Septimo to
cooperate with the Trustee, which the bankruptcy court granted. On appeal, the
district court affirmed the bankruptcy court.
We decline to address Septimo’s argument that the Trustee rejected the
leasehold for the property where her residence is located. We will not review a
new argument made on appeal absent exceptional circumstances. In re Home Am.
T.V.-Appliance Audio, Inc., 232 F.3d 1046, 1052 (9th Cir. 2000).
We review de novo a district court’s decision on appeal from a bankruptcy
court. In re JTS Corp., 617 F.3d 1102, 1109 (9th Cir. 2010). We review the
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bankruptcy court’s findings of fact for clear error and its conclusions of law de
novo. Id.
Septimo’s argument that the Trustee cannot transfer the lease on which her
property is located is incorrect. A bankruptcy trustee stands in the shoes of a
debtor. Smith v. Arthur Andersen LLP, 421 F.3d 989, 1002 (9th Cir. 2005). The
Trustee of Septimo’s estate may assign her leasehold interest for the benefit of the
estate on the same terms as Septimo because Septimo would have been allowed to
assign the lease.
Septimo has conceded that her home is the property of the estate. A debtor
may not interfere with the sale of estate property. In re Onubah, 375 B.R. 549, 557
(B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2007). The bankruptcy court properly ordered Septimo to
cooperate with the trustee pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 521. Therefore, we affirm the
district court.
AFFIRMED.
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