West v. Pawlak

IN THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR
THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
WINCHESTER DIVISION
In re: )
)
Kristopher David Pawlak ) No. 4:24-bk-12813-NWW
) Chapter 13
Debtor )
)
)
Kara West, Trustee )
)
Plaintiff )
)
v. ) Adv. No. 4:25-ap-01006-NWW
)
Tammy Pawlak )
)
Defendant )
M E M O R A N D U M
On April 9, 2025, plaintiff Kara West, as chapter 13 trustee, filed a complaint
seeking to avoid a transfer of property as a fraudulent transfer under 11 U.S.C. § 548
SIGNED this 18th day of March, 2026
_____________________________________________________________
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and to award her a judgment for the value of the transferred property pursuant to 11
U.S.C. § 550(a). Jurisdiction is proper in this court. 28 U.S.C. § 1334(b). T his adversary
proceeding is a core proceeding. 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(H).
Initially, defendant Tammy Pawlak represented herself in this adversary proceed-
ing and filed her own answer to the complaint. ECF No. 5. Shortly afterward, counsel
appeared and filed a separate answer for the defendant. ECF Nos. 8 & 18.
After a disagreement between the defendant and her counsel about “how to
pursue her defense,” however, counsel moved to withdraw. ECF No. 27. The court
granted the withdrawal motion on November 3, 2025, and ordered the defendant to
obtain new counsel within thirty days or else proceed by representing herself. ECF No.
31. No new counsel made an appearance for the defendant, so now, she represents
herself in this adversary proceeding.
According to the complaint, the defendant and the debtor owned real property
commonly known as 9405 Nashville Highway, McMinnville, Tennessee. See ECF No. 1,
Exhibit 2 (warranty deed dated November 15, 2011). On November 17, 2023, the
debtor conveyed all of his interest in the property to the defendant in exchange for
$10.00. See ECF No. 1, Exhibit 1 (quitclaim deed).
Four months later, the defendant sold the property to a third party for
$370,000.00. See ECF No. 1, Exhibit 3 (warranty deed dated March 22, 2024). Finally,
on November 7, 2024, the debtor filed a chapter 13 bankruptcy petition.
The complaint alleges that the debtor received less than reasonably equivalent
value in exchange for the transfer to the defendant and that he was insolvent at the
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time of the transfer. See 11 U.S.C. § 548(a)(1)(B)(i) & (ii)(I). Then, the plaintiff seeks a
monetary judgment against the defendant under 11 U.S.C. § 550(a).
Before the court now is a motion for summary judgment filed by the plaintiff. ECF
No. 42. The defendant did not respond to the motion, and consequently, the court
construes her silence as a lack of opposition to the motion. E.D. Tenn. LBR 7007-1(a).
Having considered the motion, supporting brief, statement of undisputed material
facts, and the lack of opposition by the defendant, the court will grant the plaintiff’s
motion for summary judgment.
I. Summary Judgment Standard
A party is entitled to summary judgment if “the movant shows that there is no
genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a
matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7056. W hen deciding a motion
for summary judgment, the court construes all reasonable inferences in favor of the
nonmoving party. Waeschle v. Dragovic, 576 F.3d 539, 543 (6th Cir. 2009) (citing
Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587 (1986)). W hen
the evidence would permit a reasonable jury to return a verdict for the nonmoving party,
a genuine issue of material fact exists, and the court must deny summary judgment.
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986).
In the face of a summary judgment motion, the nonmoving party may not rest on
its pleadings, but must come forward with some probative evidence to support its claim.
Celotex v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325 (1986); 60 Ivy St. Corp. v. Alexander, 822 F.2d
1432, 1435 (6th Cir. 1987) (holding that a nonmoving party must present “some
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significant probative evidence which makes it necessary to resolve the parties' differing
versions of the dispute at trial”). According to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c)(1),
“[a] party asserting that a fact . . . is genuinely disputed must support the assertion by
. . . citing to particular parts of materials in the record . . . or . . . showing that the
materials cited do not establish the absence . . . of a genuine dispute, or that an
adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact.”
II. Analysis
As noted above, the defendant did not respond to the motion for summary
judgement. The defendant did not cite to anything in the record showing a genuine
issue of fact. Nor did the defendant respond to the plaintiff's statement of undisputed
material facts. Failure to respond to a statement of undisputed material facts is treated
as admitting the facts. E.D. Tenn. LBR 7056-1(b).
As relevant to the complaint, Section 548(a)(1) authorizes a trustee to:
avoid any transfer . . . of an interest of the debtor in property . . . that was
made . . . on or within 2 years before the date of the filing of the petition, if
the debtor voluntarily . . .—
(B)(i) received less than a reasonably equivalent value in exchange for
such transfer . . . and
(ii)(I) was insolvent on the date that such transfer was made . . . .
Considering the plaintiff’s unrefuted statement of undisputed material facts, the
plaintiff has satisfied her burden of establishing that the transfer of the real property to
the defendant is constructively fraudulent and avoidable. Additionally, considering the
plaintiff’s arguments and unrebutted statement of undisputed facts, there is no genuine
dispute that the plaintiff is entitled to a monetary judgment equal to one-half of the value
of the property transferred pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 550(a)(1)—$185,000.00.
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III. Conclusion
For the reasons stated in this memorandum, the court finds that there is no
genuine issue of material fact and that as a matter of law the plaintiff has satisfied her
burden of proof of establishing that the transfer of real property from the debtor to the
defendant identified in the complaint was a fraudulent transfer, thus entitling the plaintiff
to a judgment for the value of the property at the time of the transfer. By separate order,
the court will grant the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment.
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