Professional Compensation/Fees

7th Circuit May 3, 2024

Three Circuits Now Say ‘13’ Trustees Aren’t Paid if Dismissal Precedes Confirmation

The same question has been sub judice in the Second Circuit for 15 months. Is the Second Circuit on the cusp of making a circuit split?

Judges Plead with Congress to Fix the Mess Created by Lamie

Sitting en banc, three judges in St. Louis effectively barred bifurcated fee arrangements in the Eastern District of Missouri.
3rd Circuit New Jersey Mar 30, 2024

District Court Disregards the Bankruptcy Court’s Authority over Post-Petition Fees

Seemingly in conflict with Section 329, a district court decided that a chapter 7 debtor’s attorneys could sue for post-petition fees, even though the firm never disclosed the fee arrangement as required by Section 329 and Rule 2016.
Supreme Court Feb 20, 2024

Supreme Court Won’t Decide Whether ‘13’ Trustees Are Paid When Plans Aren’t Confirmed

Any day now, the Second Circuit could create a split of circuits importuning the Supreme Court to decide whether chapter 13 trustees are paid fees even if no plan is confirmed.

Standing Trustees Should Be Paid in Unconfirmed Cases

Standing Trustees Should Be Paid in Unconfirmed Cases By Grant Rosinko Recent decisions in several circuits have denied compensation to standing trustees when a chapter 13 case is dismissed prior to plan confirmation. There is now a split of authority resulting from two

Congress Must Act to Permit Chapter 7 Debtors to Pay Counsel After Filing

Bifurcated fee arrangements are cumbersome, temporary fixes for a problem that the Supreme Court created in Lamie.
9th Circuit Dec 19, 2023

BAP Lays Down Pleading Rules for Fee Applications in Small Chapter 7 Cases

The fee application by an attorney for a chapter 7 trustee in a small case must state facts to show why the services must have been performed by an attorney, not by the trustee.