Roger Yale was retained by two prominent divorce attorneys to collect a fee found owed to the attorneys by their client and her ex‑husband. Yale used a provision of the Texas Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act to convince the Court that the couple had conspired to transfer assets amongst themselves to defraud Yale’s clients who were bona fide creditors of the marital estate. Following a 2‑day trial to the Court, the Court made specific findings awarding approximately $135,000.00 in damages plus additional attorney’s fees against the spouse and collectible against the business.
The Texas Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act is a law designed to protect a creditor when the debtor conspires with others to commit fraud by transferring assets and/or hiding or secreting the assets from execution by legitimate creditors. The law allows for the appointment of a receiver, sale of the assets and other significant enforcement measurements that aid a creditor in collecting a just debt. In the case discussed above, the business had an annual sales in excess of $4.5 million but 60% of the ownership was transferred for less than $100,000.00. This transfer was not for value and constituted fraud on Yale’s clients which allowed an ultimate recovery of damages as well as attorney’s fees and costs of court.
