In Re 2747 Milwaukee Ave. Bldg. Corporation

12 F. Supp. 557, 1935 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1997
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedNovember 19, 1935
Docket57262
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 12 F. Supp. 557 (In Re 2747 Milwaukee Ave. Bldg. Corporation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re 2747 Milwaukee Ave. Bldg. Corporation, 12 F. Supp. 557, 1935 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1997 (N.D. Ill. 1935).

Opinion

*560 WOODWARD, District Judge.

A plan of reorganization of the above-named debtor has been confirmed. Applications for fees and allowances have been made as follows:

Leo S. Samuels [of Chicago, Ill.] :
Attorney for petitioning creditors,
Francis A. Lackner:
Employee" of petitioning creditors to prepare plan of reorganization,
Schwartz & Cooper [of Chicago, 111.] :
Attorneys for debtor,
Benjamin E. Cohen [of Chicago, 111.]:
Attorney for trustee,
Howard K. Hurwith:
Trustee,
Taylor, Miller, Busch & Boyden [of Chicago, Ill.] :
Attorneys for intervening creditor, Butz, Von Ammon & Marx [of Chicago, Ill.] :
Attorneys for trustee under trust deed, Chicago Title & Trust Company:
Services to bondholders’ committee,
Barkhausen et al.:
Bondholders’ committee,
Butz, VonAmmon & Marx [of Chicago, Ill.] :
Attorneys for bondholders’ committee, Total

The court at this time is withholding its, ruling on the application of the bondholders’ committee and its attorneys for the allowance of their fees and expenses.

The applications were referred to a special master, who has submitted his report with recommendations.

The Corporate Reorganization Act (Bankr. Act, § 77B, 11 USCA § 207) was framed with the view of economical administration. The allowance of fees and expenses, therefore, is of prime importance. The pertinent statutory provisions may be summarized as follows:

Section 64b (3) of the Bankruptcy Act (as amended by Act May 27, 1926, § 15, 11 USCA § 104 (b) (3), of which section 77B (11 USCA § 207) is a part, provides for the payment of one reasonable attorney’s fee to petitioning creditors, irrespective of the number of attorneys employed.

Section 77B (k), 11 USCA § 207 (k) provides that, with certain exceptions not material here, the general provisions of the Bankruptcy Act shall apply to proceedings under section 77B.

Section 77B (b) (3), 11 USCA § 207 (b) (3), provides that the plan must contain provisions for the payment in cash or securities of the costs of administration and other allowances found by the court to be reasonable.

Fees $6,000.00
Expenses 134.06 $6,134.06
Fees 800.00
Fees ■7,500.00
Fees 1,200.00
Fees 2,500.00
Fees 200.00
Fees 5.000. 00
Fees l,500.p0
Expenses 559.40 2,059.40
Fees 10,523.00
Expenses 534.21
11,057.21
Fees 4.000. 00
$40,450.67

Section 77B (c) (9), 11 USCA § 207 (c) (9), provides that the judge may allow reasonable compensation and reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in connection with the proceeding and the plan to officers, parties in interest, depositaries, reorganization managers, and committees or other representatives of creditors or stockholders, and the attorneys or agents of any of the foregoing and of the debtor.

The court may allow only the fees and expenses authorized by the statute, and may not enforce, as a charge against the debtor’s property, a liability neither assumed by it nor imposed by the Bankruptcy Act. ■

Under the provisions of section 77B, fees, allowances, and expenses which may *561 be awarded by the court fall into two categories: (1) Those in connection with the proceeding and the plan, as described in subsection (c) (9), 11 USCA § 207 (c) (9), that is, those incurred in this proceeding; and (2) those incurred in a prior receivership or trusteeship, as described in subsection (i), 11 USCA § 207 (i), being the reasonable administrative expenses and allowances in a prior federal or state court proceeding.

Whether the fees and allowances are awarded for services in connection with the present proceeding, or are allowances in the prior proceeding, they must be reasonable. Moreover, subsection (k) specifically provides that section 64 of the Bankruptcy Act shall apply to a 77B proceeding, and subsection (b) (3) of section 64 permits only reasonable compensation for services actually rendered. It will therefore be observed that the rule of reasonableness as to compensation to be allowed is stressed in the three sections noted. Further, under the General Bankruptcy Act the design of Congress was that the administration of bankrupt estates should be had at the minimum of expense. In re Curtis (C. C. A.) 100 F. 784, 792; 2 Collier on Bankruptcy (13th Ed.) p. 1351.

The intent of the act is to minimize the expense of debtor’s rehabilitation, wherein it will be noted that the general purpose is to facilitate amicable adjustments between creditors and distressed debtors under the supervision of the bankruptcy court, which holds the property during the period of readjustment, thus saving the debtor in the first instance from liquidation. The estate is kept intact under the jurisdiction of the court, the purpose being to disturb the operation of the business as little as possible, thereby minimizing losses caused by'the filing of the petition. The intent of Congress to provide relief, to rehabilitate the debtor, and to minimize the cost of administration, is further expressed in the following:

(1) Compensation allowed must be found to be reasonable.

(2) Ancillary receiverships are obviated, and the estate is administered by one trustee, thereby saving the ancillary cost.

(3) Debtor corporation may be the finally reorganized corporation, thus saving the cost of the formation of a new corporation and the expense incident thereto.

(4) Outstanding securities may be exchanged or extended, and liens modified or satisfied, saving the cost of new securities and the expense of foreclosure.

(5) The debtor may be continued in possession and its officers retained at salaries approved by the judge, or, because of their interest, at no salaries, thus saving the expense of a trusteeship.

(6) New securities may be issued free from stamp tax.

(7) 'A plan of reorganization may be accepted by creditors and stockholders before the petition is filed, thus shortening the proceeding.

The attorney for the petitioning creditors, under subsection (c) (9), is asking for an allowance of $6,000.

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12 F. Supp. 557, 1935 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1997, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-2747-milwaukee-ave-bldg-corporation-ilnd-1935.