In re Silverman, 603 B.R. 498

Debtor conveyed a one-half joint tenancy in her home to Samuel Tribble in July 2012; the house was her principal valuable asset.
Debtor filed Chapter 7 in October 2015 and claimed a homestead exemption; she amended schedules to reflect full ownership value shortly after filing.
Trustee filed an adversary proceeding (Feb. 2016) against Tribble only to avoid the conveyance as a fraudulent transfer; Debtor was not named; Tribble defaulted and the court entered judgment avoiding the transfer (Mar. 2016).
Trustee later sought to retain a broker and filed a motion for turnover seeking Debtor’s cooperation to list, show, and sell the property for the estate.
Debtor objected, arguing (1) she was a necessary/indispensable party to the avoidance action and (2) turnover must be pursued by adversary, not motion; she also sought to set aside the default judgment.
Court took judicial notice of the docket and resolved the threshold legal issues on the record without an evidentiary hearing.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Trustee)	Defendant's Argument (Silverman)	Held
Whether Debtor was a necessary party under Rule 19 to the trustee's avoidance action against Tribble	Joinder not required; trustee can recover transferred property from transferee	Debtor contends her rights in the house were affected and she was a necessary defendant to protect her homestead and raise defenses	Debtor was not a necessary party: she relinquished any interest in the transferred share, trustee could afford complete relief, and Debtor’s ability to protect her homestead was not impaired
Whether Debtor may seek relief from the default judgment under Rule 60(b)	Trustee opposes relief; judgment valid and preserved for the estate	Debtor seeks to set aside the judgment for failure to join her as an indispensable party	Debtor lacks standing to move under Rule 60(b) (not a party or in privity for this purpose); any Rule 60(b) motion belongs in the adversary; no timely or meritorious Rule 60(b) grounds exist
Whether turnover may be pursued by motion rather than adversary proceeding	Turnover by motion is permitted under Rule 7001/Advisory Committee Note exception	Debtor contends turnover is an adversary matter and requires Part VII procedure	Turnover request properly brought by motion; trustee may recover property from debtor by motion

Mastercard Int'l Inc. v. Visa Int'l Serv. Ass'n Inc., 471 F.3d 377 (2d Cir.) (describing Rule 19 necessity standard regarding complete relief)
In re M. Fabrikant & Sons, Inc., 394 B.R. 721 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.) (transferor who parted with all interest is not a necessary party to suit against subsequent transferee)
In re Hopkins, 494 B.R. 306 (Bankr. E.D. Tenn.) (debtor not indispensable when no retained interest in transferred property)
Western Steel Erection Co. v. United States, 424 F.2d 737 (10th Cir.) (Rule 60(b) relief applies only to parties or their legal representatives)
St. Louis Baptist Temple, Inc. v. FDIC, 605 F.2d 1169 (10th Cir.) (privity requires substantial identity of interests for preclusion and related doctrines)
In re Mailman Steam Carpet Cleaning Corp., 196 F.3d 1 (1st Cir.) (courts may take judicial notice of their dockets)
Payne v. Tri-State Careflight, LLC, 322 F.R.D. 647 (D.N.M.) (only a party or someone in privity may seek relief under Rule 60(b))