Bankruptcy : Attorney’s Fees – Disgorgement – Recusal

Listen to this article

Where a debtor’s former bankruptcy attorneys argued that the debtor lacked standing to bring a motion to disgorge attorney’s fees, arguing that the claim belonged to the Chapter 7 trustee, the district court did not err in finding that the trustee abandoned any interest in the bankruptcy estate, and the court also properly found that the appellants did not meet their burden to prove that the judge was not impartial, so the denial of their multiple motions for recusal is affirmed and the bankruptcy court’s suspension of the attorneys was a proper exercise of the court’s authority and did not constitute an abuse of discretion.

Judgment is affirmed.

Robinson v. Steward (MLW No. 69396/Case No. 15-1857 – 19 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8^th Circuit, Kelly, J.) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, Sippel, J. (Laurence D. Mass, St. Louis, and Elbert Arthur Walton Jr., St. Louis, argued for appellants; James C. Robinson appeared on the brief) (David Nelson Gunn, Brentwood,  argued for appellee; Gary D. Bollinger appeared on the brief).

Read the full text of this opinion. (PDF)