Receiver Fees: Something for Not Much?
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The other day, Peter Lattman, at the WSJ Blog, declared himself amazed at the amount of fees lawyers pull out of a bankrupt company, for example in "the Chapter 11 case of Delta Airlines.
As debtor counsel, Marshall Huebner and his team at Davis Polk & Wardwell have rung up a healthy bill themselves. A bankruptcy judge yesterday approved Davis Polk's $10.3 million fee application for 4 1/2 months of work on the case."
Not bad, but what about those ponzi cases that we keep reading about, the big ones with over $150 million of coin of the realm to locate?
How are those receivers and lawyer doing with Neulan Midkiff, now that he has lost his $1 million dollar home?
Well, here are two interesting numbers: $806,982 and $995,653. The first is how much the receiver and his team of lawyers have increased the value of estate, but unfortunately for all victims, selling homes, cars, art and closing down businesses cost $995,653.
Fortunately, for the receiving team, there is at least one more house to sell. Bad for the administration of justice for the receiver and lawyer not to be to collect their fees.
