U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York Case Summaries:

Daily Record (Rochester, NY), Sep 19, 2008

Bankruptcy

Fees

Croak v. Turner

08-CV-465

Judge Mordue

Background: Appellant Richard Croak, the former attorney for Beatrice E. Turner,debtor in the underlying Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding, appeals from an order of Bankruptcy Judge Littlefield, requiring the appellant to pay $260 to Turner and holds that the sum Turner already paid appellant was reasonable compensation for appellant's services. The clerk issued a notice that Turner's case "has been closed without entry of discharge as Debtor did not file Official Form 23, Debtor's Certification of Completion of Instructional Course Concerning Personal Financial Management." Under the Bankruptcy Code, a bankruptcy court cannot grant a discharge in a Chapter 7 case if the debtor failed to complete a financial management course.

The debtor, proceeding pro se, wrote to the bankruptcy court, paid the fee and enclosed the proper course paperwork. Croak contends the judge erred in closing the case without giving prior notice and also argues the judge's fee ruling was an abuse of discretion. The debtor paid Croak only $600 in fees and Croak contends $562 of that sum was spent on filing fees and expenses alone.

Ruling: The Bankruptcy Code affords bankruptcy judges substantial discretion in awarding attorney's fees, therefore there was no abuse of discretion in the order regarding fees. Similarly, there was no error in the judge's closing of the case following the failure to file the course completion certificate.

Richard Croak, pro se, Beatrice E. Turner, pro se, and Marc S. Ehrlich, Chapter 7 Trustee