In re Wiley Brown & Assocs. LLC
Aug
14
2006
Ruling
Debtor could not employ inexperience attorney who also represented individual who was the 50% owner of debtor.
Procedural posture
The debtor, a limited liability company ("LLC"), filed an application to employ an attorney to represent the debtor in a chapter 11 bankruptcy case.
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Court
:
United States v. Krause (In re Krause)
Aug
08
2006
Ruling
Payment of fees for debtor's counsel as special counsel to United States Trustee from frozen assets denied.
Procedural posture
Debtor moved for the payment of the professional fees of his counsel as special counsel to the U.S. trustee, to be paid from frozen funds that either belonged to the estate or various trusts and other entities. The court conditioned any such payment upon a requirement that debtor to make full disclosure of all potential estate assets. A second defendant also sought payment for his counsel.
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Court
:
- 11 U.S.C.
Magten Asset. Mgmt. Corp. v. Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker LLP (In re Northwestern Corp.)
Jul
17
2006
Ruling
Court affirmed order denying motion for attorney disqualification since potential conflict of interest was not per se disqualification.
Procedural posture
Appellant creditor sought review of an order issued by the bankruptcy court, denying the creditor's motion to disqualify appellee, the debtor's counsel.
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Court
:
- 11 U.S.C.
Banner v. Cohen Estis & Assocs. LLP (In re Balco Ltd.)
Jul
07
2006
Ruling
On reconsideration, disgorgement of attorneys' fees upheld where firm failed to disclose conflict of interest.
Procedural posture
Plaintiff bankruptcy trustee brought an adversary proceeding against defendant law firm which represented bankruptcy debtors in consolidated cases, seeking disgorgement of the firm's retainer based on lack of disclosures under 11 U.S.C. § 327 and Fed. R. Bankr. P. 2014. The firm moved for reconsideration of the order which directed the firm to disgorge the retainer and denied the firm's fee application.
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Court
:
In re Frascella Enters.
Apr
12
2006
Ruling
Debtor's application to hire counsel denied due to failure to completely disclose prior relationship with law firm.
Procedural posture
After the debtor filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, the debtor filed an application to hire a certain law firm as counsel pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 327(a), the unsecured creditors objected.
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Court
:
- 11 U.S.C.
In re WDS Inc.
Jan
17
2006
Ruling
Debtor's motion to alter an order granting turnover to a trustee of the debtor's counsel's retainer and related motions were denied since the counsel had not filed an application for employment and the debtor did not show extraordinary circumstances for why the application was not filed.
Procedural posture
The debtor initially filed for relief under chapter 11, and the matter was converted to a chapter 7 proceeding. The debtor filed a motion to alter or amend the court's earlier turnover orders related to attorney's fees, to approve the attorney's application for employment, nunc pro tunc, and the application to employ debtor's attorney for the estate.
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Court
:
- 11 U.S.C.
Bennett & Fairshter LLP v. Stinky Love Inc. (In re Lacy)
Jan
06
2006
Ruling
Order disallowing attorneys' fees was affirmed since the law firm's postpetition, preconfirmation employment had not been authorized.
Procedural posture
Appellant law firm challenged an order and judgment from the bankruptcy court, which granted a motion by appellee creditor to implement the debtor's confirmed plan of reorganization, pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 1142, disallowed the law firm's claim for attorneys'fees for postpetition, preconfirmation employment by the debtor.
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In re Great Lakes Factors Inc.
Dec
19
2005
Ruling
Trustee's motion to employ special counsel was granted over objections since the special counsel qualified as a disinterested professional and the intended use of special counsel did not appear to harm estate assets or to raise res judicata issues as claimed.
Procedural posture
The trustee filed a motion pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 327(a) to employ special legal counsel to represent the trustee on behalf of the estate for the pursuit of certain tort and/or contract claims that was anticipated would have the effect of enlarging the estate of the debtor. The banking company and the court-appointed receiver filed objections to the appointment of the special counsel.
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Court
:
- 11 U.S.C.
In re Penney
Sep
26
2005
Ruling
Court denied a trustee's application to employ counsel due to an actual conflict of interest in counsel representing a creditor and the estate.
Procedural posture
The chapter 7 trustee filed an application to employ counsel. Proposed counsel and his firm represented a secured creditor with a claim against the bankruptcy estate. The issue was whether an actual conflict of interest existed with respect to counsel's dual representation of the creditor and the estate.
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Court
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