MARIA-ELENA JAMES, Magistrate Judge.
Plaintiff Amber Kelleher brings this action against Defendant John E. Kelleher, alleging that her ex-husband and Defendant's brother, Daniel J. Kelleher ("Daniel"), fraudulently transferred shares of WhiteHat Securities, Inc. to Defendant in December 2010. Third Am. Compl. ("TAC"), Dkt. No. 118. Plaintiff alleges four causes of action against Defendant: (1) Actual Fraudulent Transfer under California Civil Code section 3439.04; (2) Constructive Fraudulent Transfer under California Civil Code section 3439.05; (3) Common Law Fraudulent Transfer; and (4) Breach of Quasi-Contract/Unjust Enrichment. Id. Currently pending before the Court is Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment on her Constructive Fraudulent Transfer claim under California's Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act ("UFTA"), Cal. Civ. Code § 3439.05. Dkt. No. 109-11. Defendant did not file a cross motion for summary judgment. The dispositive motion deadline passed on May 28, 2015. Dkt. No. 106 at 2.
On July 23, 2015, the Court held a hearing on Plaintiff's Motion. As noted at the hearing, Defendant's Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion asserts that, although he received the WhiteHat shares from Daniel, Defendant reconveyed the proceeds of the sale of those shares back to Daniel in December 2011. Dkt. No. 124 at 23 (citing Geonetta Decl., Ex. 22 (John Kelleher Dep. 16:21-17:13
In considering Plaintiff's Motion, the Court has encountered case law from other courts indicating the reconveyance of a transferred asset may release the transferee from liability under similar enactments of the UFTA. See, e.g., Robinson v. Coughlin, 266 Conn. 1, 2 (Conn. 2003) (concluding that "a transferee may not be held liable for damages" where "the transferee reconveys those assets to the transferor and there is no claim that the assets depreciated in value between the time of the fraudulent transfer and the time of the reconveyance"); Northborough v. Risley, 384 Mass. 348, 348-51 (Mass. 1981) (finding the transferee not liable after transferee sold the asset but reconveyed its value to the debtor by paying him the net proceeds from the sale, noting that "the change in the form of the asset is not dispositive"); see also 37 Am. Jur. 2d Fraudulent Conveyances and Transfers § 114 ("[I]t has been said that while a fraudulent grantee is under no legal obligation to reconvey, he or she is under a moral obligation to do so. Therefore, all acts done by him or her in execution of this duty should be favorably considered in equity since the moral obligation is a valuable and sufficient consideration for a reconveyance."). Although there appears to be no California case law directly on point, Defendant's reconveyance of the proceeds of the shares back to Daniel may be grounds for summary judgment in Defendant's favor on Plaintiff's Constructive Fraud Claim under the UFTA.
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(f), the Court has the power to sua sponte enter summary judgment on behalf of a nonmovant "[a]fter giving notice and a reasonable time to respond." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(f); Norse v. City of Santa Cruz, 629 F.3d 966, 971 (9th Cir. 2010), cert. denied, 132 S.Ct. 112 (2011); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 326 (1986) ("[D]istrict courts are widely acknowledged to possess the power to enter summary judgments sua sponte, so long as the losing party was on notice that she had to come forward with all of her evidence."). "A district court maintains the discretion to grant a non-moving party summary judgment, even where the nonmovant does not file a cross-motion for summary judgment." N. Coast Med., Inc. v. Hartford Fire Ins. Co., 2014 WL 605672, at *4 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 17, 2014) (quoting Acton v. City of Columbia, Mo., 436 F.3d 969, 980 n.5 (8th Cir. 2006)).
In light of the foregoing, the Court is inclined to grant summary judgment in Defendant's favor on Plaintiff's Constructive Fraudulent Transfer claim
Defendant may submit a response