IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 19-20511

Summary Calendar

IN THE MATTER OF: HERMAN E. HOFFMAN,

 Debtor

HERMAN E. HOFFMAN, 

 Appellant

v.

LESLIE "BUDDY" MAYBIN; KELLY MAYBIN, 

 Appellees

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Southern District of Texas

USDC No. 4:17-CV-786

Before JOLLY, JONES, and SOUTHWICK, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

Debtor-Appellant Hoffman asks this court to reverse the judgment of the 

bankruptcy court that Creditor-Appellees, the Maybins, own five horses free 

and clear of Hoffman’s claims. In support of his position, Hoffman argues that 

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not 

be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH 

CIR. R. 47.5.4.

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

February 27, 2020

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

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No. 19-20511

2

the bankruptcy court erred by permitting the fraudulent transfer of the horses 

to the Maybins for less than reasonably equivalent value in violation of 

11 U.S.C. § 548. Hoffman raises two issues of fact and a mixed question of law 

and fact. “In reviewing cases originating in bankruptcy, we perform the same

function, as did the district court: Fact findings of the bankruptcy court are 

reviewed under a clearly erroneous standard and issues of law are reviewed de 

novo.” In re Soileau, 488 F.3d 302, 305 (5th Cir. 2007) (internal quotation 

marks and citations omitted). We review mixed questions of law and fact de 

novo, and the underlying facts in mixed questions are reviewed for clear error.

See In re Green Hills Dev. Co., 741 F.3d 651, 654–55 (5th Cir. 2014). We 

AFFIRM all issues on the following grounds.

First, the bankruptcy court did not commit clear error by finding that 

Hoffman owed a substantial debt to the Maybins. Ample testimony established 

that Mr. Maybin performed uncompensated work for Hoffman from 2010 to 

2014 and again in June of 2015. Second, the bankruptcy court’s finding that 

Hoffman transferred the horses to the Maybins in satisfaction of that debt is 

not clearly erroneous. Late on the evening of June 23, 2015, Hoffman offered 

Mr. Maybin several horses if Mr. Maybin could pick them up that night.1 

Mr. Maybin did so. The men never discussed payment for the horses, and 

Mr. Maybin understood the horses to be payment for the work he had done 

over the last five years.2 The record reflects that trading horses for work is not 

1 This eleventh-hour offer came in the midst of a two-day inspection of Mr. Hoffman’s

ranch by the Montgomery County DA’s office for animal cruelty and neglect. The day after 

Mr. Maybin’s midnight acquisition, Montgomery County seized the remainder of the 

Hoffmans’ horses—over 200—and the Justice Court later awarded ownership of the horses 

to the Houston SPCA. The horses Mr. Maybin received had been mistreated and 

malnourished, and a veterinarian testified that the horses held little value at the time the 

Maybins acquired them.

2 Mr. Hoffman tendered a back-dated bill of sale to Mr. Maybin, but that document 

did not include a purchase price nor were any other transaction related documents executed. 

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uncommon. Finally, the bankruptcy court did not clearly err by finding that 

the transfer was not avoidable because the value of the horses was not 

substantially in excess of what the Maybins were owed. See 11 U.S.C. § 548. 

In the face of conflicting testimony, the bankruptcy court offered Mr. Hoffman 

a chance to prove the value of the horses. Because Mr. Hoffman failed to 

provide the requisite proof, the bankruptcy court correctly declared the 

Maybins to be the owners of the horses free and clear of Hoffman’s claims.

AFFIRM.

Additionally, the bankruptcy court did not credit Mr. Hoffman’s assertion that Mr. Maybin 

agreed to purchase the horses for $120,000 given that Mr. Maybin was unemployed at the 

time of transfer and the horses’ condition was extremely poor.

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