Professional Compensation/Fees

9th Circuit Jun 12, 2023

Stop Punishing the Innocent: Congress Should Fix the Doll/Evans Problem

What will become of the chapter 13 system if standing trustees must refund all fees collected in cases dismissed before confirmation? The answer is perhaps unexpected: Unsecured creditors in confirmed chapter 13 cases will pay the administrative expenses of cases that fail.
11th Circuit Aug 14, 2023

Eleventh Circuit Narrowly Reads a State Fee-Shifting Statute

The lawsuit was under federal law, not state law, even though Section 544(b)(1) incorporated state fraudulent transfer law.
3rd Circuit New Jersey Jul 7, 2023

A Trustee Receives Statutory Commissions Unless the Amount Is ‘Offensive’

A trustee’s commissions can’t be based on a percentage of disbursements to the trustee’s own counsel, so says a New Jersey district judge.
9th Circuit Jun 12, 2023

Two Circuits Now Hold: ‘13’ Trustees Aren’t Paid if Cases Dismiss Before Confirmation

The Ninth and Tenth Circuit disallow fees to chapter 13 trustee if the case is dismissed before confirmation. The identical issue is sub judice in the Second Circuit.

Bifurcated Fee Arrangements Now Seem Impossible in South Carolina

Affirming the bankruptcy court, the district court found that bifurcated fees are excessive and that inadequate disclosures violated Sections 526 and 528.

Seventh Circuit to Rule on Paying ‘13’ Trustees if Dismissal Precedes Confirmation

Within the next year, four circuits will have ruled on a split where some lower courts pay chapter 13 trustees and others don’t when dismissal precedes confirmation.