In Re Hackney

347 B.R. 432, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 1827, 2006 WL 2374245
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedJune 15, 2006
Docket6:03-bk-02488-ABB
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 347 B.R. 432 (In Re Hackney) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Hackney, 347 B.R. 432, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 1827, 2006 WL 2374245 (Fla. 2006).

Opinion

ORDER

ARTHUR B. BRISKMAN, Bankruptcy Judge.

This matter came before the Court on the Chapter 13 Trustee’s Motion to Compel John V. Head, Attorney for Debtors, to Disgorge Fees Received On or About June 7, 2005 in the Amount of $10,000.00 (“Motion to Compel”), the John Vernon Head’s Response to Trustee’s Motion to Disgorge Fees Received on or About June 7, 2005 and Petition to Approve Payment of Fees, *435 and the Motion to Withdraw as Counsel by-John V. Head. 1 An evidentiary hearing was held on March 7, 2006 at which the Chapter 13 Trustee, John V. Head, Esquire, the creditor George Randall Turner and his counsel appeared. The parties were provided seven days to submit additional documentation in support of their positions. They filed numerous pleadings, including objections, briefs, motions to strike, and an application for compensation. 2 The Court makes the following Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law after reviewing the pleadings and evidence, hearing live testimony and argument, and being otherwise fully advised in the premises.

FINDINGS OF FACT

Representation of the Debtors

Clayton J. Hackney and Linda J. Hackney (collectively, the “Debtors”) engaged attorney Ezra Witsman (“Witsman”) as their Chapter 13 bankruptcy counsel. The Debtors and Witsman executed a Legal Fee Agreement dated March 10, 2003 setting forth the terms of Witsman’s representation. 3 Witsman agreed to charge $175.00 per hour for his services pursuant to the Legal Fee Agreement. The Debtors, with the assistance of Witsman, instituted this joint Chapter 13 case on March 10, 2003 (the “Petition Date”) on an emergency basis. The Debtors’ primary asset is their homestead located at 27451 Spring Valley, Road, Eustis, Florida 32736 (the “Property”), which is encumbered by a first priority mortgage held by George Randall Turner (“Turner”). The Debtors filed bankruptcy in an attempt to avoid a foreclosure sale of the Property by Turner. 4

An Order Establishing Duties of Trustee and Debtor was issued by the Court on March 13, 2003. 5 Paragraph 7 of the Order provides: “Consistent with Fed. R. Bankr.P.2016(b), debtors’ counsel must file supplemental disclosures for all payments received from the debtor after this case is filed. Failure to file the required disclosures may result in the disgorgement of fees paid.” Witsman filed a Rule 2016(b) Statement on March 26, 2003 reflecting he agreed to accept $1,500.00 for services and received such amount from the Debtors. 6 No order was entered in this case granting Witsman additional fees nor did Witsman ever seek additional fees.

*436 Attorney John Vernon Head (“Counsel”) purchased Witsman’s law practice and substituted as counsel for the Debtors on our about August 12, 2003. 7 The Debtors did not execute a fee agreement with Counsel and Counsel did not file a Rule 2016(b) Statement disclosing the terms of his engagement. Counsel represented the Debtors in several matters during the pendency of their bankruptcy case, both in this Court and in other courts. He did not follow the terms of the Legal Fee Agreement and has not produced any fee agreements or evidence of communication to the Debtors regarding his billing arrangements.

Counsel asserts he billed the Debtors at the discounted “per hour rate of $175.00.” 8 He contends the fees charged by him “were below the firm’s published fee schedule ... as a substantial discount of the fees was given because the Hackneys are existing clients.” 9 Counsel, as his own exhibits reflect, billed the Debtors at varying hourly rates — sometimes as much as $225.00 per hour. 10 He asserts he has received no fees or reimbursement of costs for his representation of the Debtors in their Chapter 13 case and has sent no billings to the Debtors during their three-year relationship. 11

Counsel presented invoices for professional services relating to matters classified by him as “non-bankruptcy” matters. 12 The invoices are undated, contain no dates on which services were actually rendered, set forth only general descriptions of the services rendered, provide no delineation of how much time was spent on a particular task or who rendered the services, and, in some instances, there is no time delineation set forth at all. It is unclear whether Counsel sent the invoices to the Debtors. The Debtors paid Counsel $2,000.00, 13 which Counsel applied to matters he classifies as “non-bankruptcy” services. 14 Counsel has not established the Debtors’ payment was for services unconnected to the bankruptcy case or application of the payments to “non-bankruptcy” matters was proper. Counsel had a statutory obligation to disclose his receipt of $2,000.00 to the Court and to the United States Trustee. He did not disclose receipt of the $2,000.00 and breached his disclosure duties.

Plan and Claim Litigation

Turner and the Debtors have had a difficult relationship throughout this case and extensively litigated Turner’s various proofs of claim, including Turner’s Third Amended Proof of Claim (Claim No. 13). The litigation concluded with the entry of the Order Allowing George Randall Turner’s Third Amended Proof of Claim fixing Turner’s claim in the amount of $157,375.57 plus interest at the rate of 10% per annum on the principal amount of $142,000.00 (relating to the final judgment of foreclosure) from February 5, 2003 until paid in full. 15 Turner’s allowed claim includes an award of $15,375.58 for attorneys’ fees incurred by Turner: (i) $7,028.58 to Akerman Senterfitt; (ii) *437 $1,947.00 to McLeod & McLeod, P.A.; and (iii) $6,400.00 to Becker & Poliakoff, P.A. 16

The Debtors’ plan confirmation process was litigious. Their Seconded Amended Plan 17 was confirmed on August 3, 2004 through the entry of the Order Confirming Chapter 13 Plan (“Confirmation Order”). 18 The plan provided for the full payment of Turner’s allowed claim by month 60 of the plan. The Confirmation Order and plan were later modified. 19 Counsel did not file a fee application or otherwise seek an award of attorney’s fees during the plan confirmation process.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
347 B.R. 432, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 1827, 2006 WL 2374245, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-hackney-flmb-2006.