Opinion
Case No. 05-74585.
April 28, 2006
DECISION AND ORDER
Before this Court is the Billing Statement of the Trustee, Patricia Kovacs, submitted pursuant to this Court's Decision and Order entered March 28, 2006. (Doc. No. 35). As also permitted by this same Decision and Order, the Debtors, while not contesting her entitlement to recover fees and expenses, have objected to the final sum sought by the Trustee. For the reasons now stated, the Court sustains the Debtors' objection to the extent provided for herein.
PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
After the Debtors failed, as required by bankruptcy law, to list a workers' compensation claim, having a value in excess of One Hundred Thousand dollars, the Trustee commenced legal proceedings in this Court to deny the Debtors' right to claim an otherwise valid exemption in this asset. In this Court's Decision and Order, the Court denied the relief requested by the Trustee, but also found that:
. . . equity cannot allow the Debtors to simply walk away from this matter. The Trustee was fully justified in bringing this action. Thus, based upon this Court's equitable powers, the allowability of the Debtors' amendment to their petition to claim the exemption in Mr. McVay's workers' compensation settlement will be conditioned upon the Debtors timely reimbursing the Trustee for all the fees and expenses she incurred in prosecuting her actions.
Id., at pg. 8.
In accordance with this finding, the Trustee submitted her billing report to the Court. Therein, she set forth 22.2 billable hours at the rate of $150.00 per hour for a total of $2,730.00; and four billable hours at the rate of $90.00 per hour for a total of $360.00. After accounting for a $140.00 credit, as the result of Debtors' counsel incurring the expense of purchasing the transcript from the § 341 meeting of creditors, the Trustee set forth total fees allotted to prosecuting her actions against the Debtors at $2,950.00. (Doc. No. 36). The Debtors objected, arguing that, among other things, it was excessive for the Trustee to charge 14.5 hours for writing, drafting, reviewing and researching issues for her motion, objection and supporting brief. Additionally, the Debtors argued that billing four hours to obtain and review workers' compensation documents was unnecessary because they had that information readily available. (Doc. No. 37). The Court, as now explained, agrees.
DISCUSSION
In reviewing her billable hours, the Court does not question that the cumulative total of 22.2 billable hours submitted by the Trustee is an accurate representation of the time spent in this matter. The Trustee's billing statement is, from a record-keeping standpoint, meticulous as exemplified by the Trustee properly accounting for a credit due to the Debtors. But in awarding compensation to officers of the estate, such as a trustee, the compensation sought must be reasonable. 11 U.S.C. § 330(a)(1)(A). And for compensation that is found not to be reasonable, the Court is permitted to "award compensation that is less than the amount of compensation that is requested." § 330(a)(2).
Among other things, reasonable is defined with reference to "whether the services were performed within a reasonable amount of time commensurate with the complexity, importance, and nature of the problem, issue, or task addressed[.]" § 330(a)(3)(D). The 14.5 billable hours sought by the Trustee for what is, in essence, research and writing simply does not mesh with this consideration. The Trustee is an experienced attorney, having practiced before this Court for a number of years, while the legal issue presented to the Court by way of her motion and objection was straightforward: whether a claim of exemption could be denied on solely the basis that the asset was not initially disclosed in the petition?
As for the number of hours allowed, the Court hereby finds that six hours is reasonable. Of these, four hours will be allowed for those fees billed by the Trustee at $150.00 per hour, for which there were 10.5 total, while two hours will be allowed for those fees billed at $90.00 per hour, for which there were four total. Therefore, in accordance with § 330(a)(3)(D), the Trustee's fees are hereby reduced by $1,155.00 (6.5 hrs. @ $150.00 + 2 hrs. @ $90.00).
The Court is also directed by statute that it "shall not allow compensation for unnecessary duplication of services[.]" Of the four hours the Trustee billed for services related directly to workers' compensation matters, two hours fit this mold. The Trustee could have easily obtained this information from the Debtors' counsel who, as exemplified by the § 341 transcript, has cooperated with the Trustee. Hence, the Trustee's fees will be reduced by $300.00 (2 hrs. @ $150.00).
In conclusion, the Court finds that the $2,950.00 in fees sought by the Trustee should be reduced by $1,455.00.
Accordingly, it is
ORDERED that the Debtors, Kenneth/Lynn McVay, are hereby required forthwith to reimburse the Trustee, Patricia Kovacs, a total of $1,495.00 in fees.