Fambrough v. Estate of Nunley (In re Mullins)

190 B.R. 812, 1995 Bankr. LEXIS 1575, 28 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 77
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Virginia
DecidedOctober 20, 1995
DocketBankruptcy No. 7-80-00727-HPA-11
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 190 B.R. 812 (Fambrough v. Estate of Nunley (In re Mullins)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fambrough v. Estate of Nunley (In re Mullins), 190 B.R. 812, 1995 Bankr. LEXIS 1575, 28 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 77 (Va. 1995).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

H. CLYDE PEARSON, Bankruptcy Judge.

Before the Court is the motion of the Administrator and Heirs of the Estate of the deceased Debtor to stay this Court’s Order of September 7, 1995, awarding counsel fees to the Estate of the late James E. Nunley. Notice of Appeal was filed on behalf of the Administrator of the Estate of Walter C. Mullins, Deceased, Talmadge Frambrough of the State of Alabama, as well as the Heirs of the Estate of Walter C. Mullins, Deceased (“Heirs”). The Court is not advised as to whether or not the Heirs is a necessary party in interest and that matter is not before the Court. The Heirs apparently join in the Administrator’s appeal. The Court entered an Order that stayed temporarily the Court’s Order awarding the fees pending a hearing on the motion for stay. The Court having heard the motion for stay and considered the arguments of counsel and the record herein, accordingly, denies the motion.1

The Appellant gives the following as Statement of Issues on appeal: (1) whether the Court’s findings of fact were clearly erroneous; (2) whether the Court erred in considering matters outside the record and not relevant to the issue; (3) whether the Court’s legal conclusions, that a fee enhancement was appropriate in the case and that a reasonable fee for 51.96 hours of service rendered was $100,000.00, were erroneous; and (4) whether the Court’s determination that a fee arrangement authorizing a surcharge for favorable results created a contingent fee arrangement is supported by the record.

A leading case in the Fourth Circuit on the subject of staying orders or judgments is Long v. Robinson, 432 F.2d 977 (1970), wherein the court cited four factors for consideration on the issue of whether or not a stay of an appealed order should be granted, as follows: (1) the likelihood of success of the appeal; (2) the harm that failure to grant the stay will result to the appellant; (3)the harm resulting to the appellee or others if the stay is granted; and (4) that granting stay will serve the public interest concerning the subject matter. The fourth element has no relationship to this case since the parties involved are only private parties.

In considering the other three elements, it is necessary for the Court to recite facts concerning the history of this matter including the Order of the Court awarding fees herein appealed. Counsel for the Administrator recited the foregoing four elements that the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has noted in oral arguments. Counsel for the Heirs of Mr. Mullins, likewise, joined in the argument of counsel for the administrator and adopted the same as part of their Appeal filed on behalf of the Heirs. We have in this matter the Estate of James E. Nunley, Deceased, being administered by the Executrix in the State of Virginia, which will administer any funds received from the Orders herein and make appropriate accounting for such fees as the fiduciary of this decedent’s estate. The same is true with the Estate of Mr. Mullins in the State of Alabama where he [814]*814apparently resided at the time of his death through the Administrator of that estate.

A review of the history of this case is necessary from the standpoint of the hearings to fix fees of present successor counsel, Mr. Lamie, counsel for the Disbursing Agent, Mr. Copeland, and counsel for the Estate of Mr. Nunley. These counsel fees grew out of the legal services rendered and ordered by this Court to be paid as administrative expense, under 11 U.S.C. §§ 503 and 507, from funds being disbursed in accordance with the Chapter 11 confirmed Plan. This Court entered an Order on January 23, 1995, when the funds from the litigation in Kentucky became available for the purpose of consummation of the Chapter 11 Plan. It directed that applications for allowance of administrative fees and expenses be filed by February 1, 1995 and that objections thereto be filed and served upon opposing parties on or before February 10, 1995. This Order was an effort to expedite hearings and determination of administrative expenses, fees, and costs and close this case as soon as feasible.

Hearings were held upon the applications filed by the three parties. The record reflects that only written or oral objections were noted primarily to the fee of Mr. Copeland. Neither the written objections nor the oral objections at hearing were made with any substance, to the fee application of Mr. Nunley. On February 14, 1995, Mr. Read, counsel for the Heirs, filed a belated written objection which dealt solely with the allowance of any fee to Mr. Copeland as Disbursing Agent, contending that such fees were unwarranted and were duplicative. Mr. La-mie, as successor counsel for the Debtor herein to Mr. Nunley, filed a memorandum of objection in which he generally objected to Mr. Copeland’s fee and set forth therein acknowledging, as Debtor’s counsel, that the Court could award larger and enhanced fees than those previously approved in the prior applications of the Nunley Estate and that such additional fees were proper. Although the Administrator, Fambrough, is apparently a member of the Alabama Bar, he neither appeared nor filed any objection in person or by counsel to any of the fees awarded by this Court, although he had due notice of all the proceedings thereon. There was no objection to Mr. Lamie’s application and the Court approved generally the requests in the applications of Mr. Lamie and Mr. Copeland, as well as the Nunley application. No appeal has been noted to the fees of Mr. Lamie or Mr. Copeland.

This Court is compelled to note that when the funds became available from the litigation in Kentucky, they were paid into the registry of the State Court of Kentucky where the litigation was pending pursuant to its orders. When these funds became available, the Disbursing Agent, Mr. Copeland, who had previously been appointed counsel fdr himself by Order of this Court and under the Chapter 11 Plan confirmed by this Court, became gravely concerned over certain reported actions and efforts on the part of the administrator, Mr. Fambrough. The Administrator had engaged counsel in the State of Kentucky apparently for the purpose of seeking to thwart the procedures and orders in this Court and to prevent the disbursement of those funds to Mr. Copeland as Disbursing Agent in this case. Mr. Copeland, over the vigorous objections of these parties, properly filed proceedings in this Court to enjoin and prohibit the Administrator from subverting the processes, procedures, and orders of this Court in his duties as Disbursing/Escrow Agent for the confirmed Plan in payment of administrative costs, expenses, fees and creditors’ claims as provided therein.

This Court, after notice to all proper parties, including the Administrator, heard these matters brought by Mr. Copeland in his capacity as Disbursing Agent representing the creditors in this case. It is now clear that absent the orders of this Court, from pleadings filed by Mr. Copeland, his efforts would have been thwarted by the Administrator and his counsel in Kentucky to the detriment of the creditors and in contravention of this Court’s orders in this case. The efforts of the Administrator, his counsel, and others were so flagrant that this Court directed Mr. Copeland to bring these matters before the Court for contempt and sanctions on behalf of the creditors in his capacity as Disbursing Agent.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
190 B.R. 812, 1995 Bankr. LEXIS 1575, 28 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 77, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fambrough-v-estate-of-nunley-in-re-mullins-vawb-1995.