In re: Maria D. Robles

Opinion

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION ) In re: ) Case No. 24bk01284 ) Maria D. Robles, Chapter 7 Debtor. ) . ) Judge Timothy A. Barnes

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF ORDER AWARDING TO PAULSEN+HOLTSCHLAG LLC, ATTORNEYS FOR CHAPTER 7 TRUSTEE, FOR ALLOWANCE AND PAYMENT OF FINAL COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES TOTAL FEES REQUESTED: $11,680.00 TOTALCOSTS REQUESTED: $496.76 TOTAL FEES REDUCED: $ 326.00 TOTAL COSTS REDUCED: $ 0.00 TOTAL FEES ALLOWED: $11,334.00 ‘YTOTAL COSTS ALLOWED: $ 496.76 TOTAL FEES AND COSTS ALLOWED: $ 11,850.76 ‘The attached time and expense entries have been underlined to reflect disallowance in whole or in part. The basis for each disallowance is reflected by numerical notations that appear on the left of each underlined entry. ‘The numerical notations correspond to the enumerated paragraphs below. (1) Unreasonable Time — TOTAL of disallowed amounts: $ 326.00 The Court denies the allowance in part of compensation for the indicated task(s) since the professional or paraprofessional expended an unreasonable amount of time on the task(s) in light of the nature of the task(s), the experience and knowledge of the professional performing the task(s), and the amount of time previously expended by the professional or another on the task(s). I” re Pettibone, 74 B.R. 293, 306 (Bankr. N.D. Il. 1987) Schmetterer, J.) (The Court will determine what is the reasonable amount of time an attorney should have to spend on a given project... An attorney should not be rewarded for inefficiency. Similarly, attorneys will not be fully compensated for spending an unreasonable number of hours on activities of little benefit to the estate.”’); In re Wildman, 72 B.R. 700, 713 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 1987) (Schmetterer, J.) (same). As to the time devoted to the preparation of the fee application itself, the Court denies the allowance of compensation that 1s disproportionate to the total hours in the main case. In re Wildman, 72 B.R. 700, 711 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 1987) (Schmetterer, J.) (“In the absence of unusual circumstances, the hours allowed by this Court for preparing and litigating the attorney fee application should not exceed three percent of the total hours in the main case.”’); In re Spanjer Bros., Inc, 203 B.R. 85, 93 (Bankr. N.D. IIL. 1996) Squires, J.) (compensation limited to 5%); see also In re Pettibone Corp., 74 B.R. 293, 304 (Bankr. N.D. IIL. 1987) (Schmetterer, J.) (ting Coulter v. State of Tennessee, 805 F.2d 146, 151 (6th Cir. 1986) (an nonbankruptcy cases, compensation for preparation and litigation of fee petitions limited to 3-5% of the hours of the main case)). However, for

applications for compensation that request total fees of $10,000.00 or less, this Court will allow compensation for the time devoted to the preparation of the fee application itself in the following manner: For the first $5,000.00 of total compensation requested, this Court will limit time devoted to preparation of the fee application to 10% of total compensation requested and will allow 5% of additional total compensation requested for time devoted to preparation of the fee application. SL Dated: October 16, 2024 C : ~ ‘Timothy A. Barnes, Judge United States Bankruptcy Court

B160: Fee/Employment Applicaitons Date Prof Hours Rate (S$) Amount Description 06/21/24 AH 0.2 $400.00 $80.00 Correspond with N. Metrou regarding valuation and employment. 06/25/24 AH 1.2 $400.00 $480.00 Prepare motion to employ PH, declaration, and proposed order. 06/25/24 AH 0.7 $400.00 $280.00 Prepare motion to employ broker, declaration, listing agreement rider, and proposed order. 07/01/24 AH 0.8 $400.00 $320.00 Review and revise motion, listing agreement, listing agreement rider, declaration, and proposed order. 07/10/24 AH 0.5 $400.00 $200.00 Prepare for and attend hearing on motion to employ realtor. 07/18/24 AH 1.2 $400.00 $480.00 Draft motion to employ P. Metrou as real estate attorney, proposed order, and declaration. 07/18/24 AH 0.3 $400.00 $120.00 TCW P. Metrou regarding employment and purchase offer. 07/22/24 AH 0.1 $400.00 $40.00 TCW P. Metrou regarding revisions to employment declaration. 07/24/24 AH 0.4 $400.00 $160.00 Review and revise motion to employ real estate counsel, exhibits, and proposed order. 07/29/24 AH 0.2 $400.00 $80.00 Correspond with L. West regarding employment. 07/30/24 AH 0.8 $400.00 $320.00 Draft motion to employ L. West as accountant and proposed order; review and revise motion, exhibit, and proposed order. 09/12/24 AH 0.9 $400.00 $360.00 Edit time detail. 09/19/24 AH 1.5 $400.00 $600.00 Draft first and final fee application, exhibits, and proposed order. 09/25/24 AH 0.5 $400.00 $200.00 Review and revise first and final fee application, exhibits, and proposed order. Total: 9.3 $3,720.00 Category Subtotal by Professional: AH 9.3 $3,720.00