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Vanhoozier v. GMS Mine Repair and Maintenance (In re Vanhoozier) Case No. 17-70673; A.P. No. 17-07045 6/19/2018

The Debtor filed a Complaint against his employer seeking an award of costs ($775.00) and attorney's fees ($4,200.00) as a sanction for violation of the automatic stay of 11 U.S.C. § 362.  Noting that the paralegal and the attorney charged the same hourly rate ($200/hour) and billed in quarter hour increments instead of tenth of an hour increments, the Court reduced the paralegal's rate to $100/hour and also reduced her time by one half.   This reduction was also supported by the fact that both the paralegal and attorney performed the exact same task on the exact same date on several occasions.  Counsel's fees were allowed in a limited amount as this was not a complicated matter and counsel could have filed a motion to show cause against the employer without the necessity of filing an adversary proceeding.  No costs were allowed as the matter should have been filed before the case was closed and due to the fact that no filing fees are due from a debtor who files an adversary proceeding.   The Court  allowed only $700.00 in attorney's fees and granted judgment in the total amount of $1,075.00 as a reasonable attorney's fee as a sanction against the employer. Counsel was also prohibited from recovering from the Debtor the filing and reopening fees paid in connection with the case. 

Date: 
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Category: 
Attorneys Fees
Sanctions and contempt
Chapter: 
7