When seeking to collect post-petition fees from a chapter 7 debtor, beware of the conversion. If former counsel files a collection action against a debtor for post-petition fees in state court, failing to stay the action after a conversion to a chapter 13 case will result in a stay violation.
The Ethics and Professional Compensation Committee had an active 2018. We strived to continue to provide our members with enlightening and useful substantive information, while also offering enjoyable and valuable social and networking opportunities.
The chapter 7 trustee, in a July 2018 ruling, was denied compensation for services that were held to be “customary and statutory duties” that provided no further benefit to the bankruptcy estate and were not outside of those normal duties.
In In re D’Arata,[1] the bankruptcy court ordered debtor’s counsel to disgorge the fee he received to represent the debtor in a chapter 7 case. The court also discussed and cautioned against the use of appearance counsel.
[1] Hon. Jeff Bohm of the U.S.
In In re Cummings,[1] the chapter 12 debtors, who successfully confirmed their chapter 12 plan of reorganization, objected to their attorneys’ application for compensation and reimbursement of expenses.
An April ruling by Hon. Mary Jo Heston of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington in Tacoma addressed a fairly complicated and nuanced administrative expense request, ultimately adopting the view — contrary to at least two circuits — that substantial contribution claims are allowable in chapter 7 bankruptcy cases. In re Maust Transport Inc., Ch. 7 Case No.
Many lawyers may have dealt with a challenging neighbor in their personal lives, but it is fair to say that few have dealt with a difficult neighbor challenging their retentions in their professional lives. However, the U.S.
A cautionary tale in the failure to have written fee agreements and maintain good records of client interactions is evidenced in a recent court decision out of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts.
In In re Tuscany Energy,[1] the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida recently addressed the issue of whether a pre-petition retainer paid to a debtor’s attorney from an account encumbered by a security interest remains subject to the creditor’s lien.