Re bankruptcy trustees . . . you have to be appointed by the court!
"Biltmore makes two arguments on appeal. First, relying on bankruptcy law, it contends that our decision in Metcalf v. Golden (In re Adbox, Inc.)[488 F. 3d 836 (9th Cir. 2007] barred the district court from properly imposing judgment against its personal assets because it acted solely in the representative capacity of a bankruptcy trustee. . . .
Biltmore's bankruptcy law argument has no merit, because Biltmore is not a bankruptcy trustee. A bankruptcy proceeding may be crowded with trustees, perhaps the trustees under deeds of trust on real property seeking relief from the stay so that they can foreclose, trustees for minors and for inter vivos trusts trying to keep assets out of the bankruptcy estate, and trustees for decedents, but they are not all the same. Biltmore was not appointed as trustee of the bankruptcy estate. Visitalk, the bankrupt, remained a debtor in possession."
Biltmore Associates, LLC v. Twin City Fire Ins. Co., 572 F.3d 663, 675 (9th Cir. 2009) (emphasis added).