Opinion ID: 39707
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: the experience, reputation and ability of

Text: the attorneys; (10) the “undesirability” of the case; (11) the nature and length of the professional relationship with the client; and (12) awards in similar cases. Johnson, 488 F.2d at 719. 5 General Order 2004-5 indicates that approximately 26,000 Chapter 13 cases are currently pending before bankruptcy courts in the Southern District of Texas, and approximately 12,000 more will be filed in the next year. General Order 2004-5 at 427. -8- fees should not result in a second major litigation.”). To this end, General Order 2004-5 provides bankruptcy courts with reasonable attorney time estimates for completing a “typical” Chapter 13 case and customary rates for Chapter 13 services in the Southern District of Texas, which, when multiplied together, yield a typical lodestar amount of $1737.6 General Order 2004-5 at 433. This precalculated lodestar aids bankruptcy courts in disposing of run-of-the-mill Chapter 13 fee applications expeditiously and uniformly, obviating the need for bankruptcy courts to make the same findings of fact regarding reasonable attorney time expenditures and rates in typical cases for each fee application that they review. General Order 2004-5 nevertheless anticipates that bankruptcy courts evaluating traditional fee applications will continue to analyze and adjust fee applications on a case-by-case 6 According to General Order 2004-5, the time typically spent on a Chapter 13 case is 5.7 attorney hours and 5.3 paralegal hours; the reasonable and customary rates are $235 per hour for attorneys and $75 per hour for paralegals. General Order 2004-5 at 433. Walker & Patterson argues that the bankruptcy court’s reliance on these factual findings in General Order 2004-5 was improper because “General Order 2004-5 makes significant factual findings without the benefit of an evidentiary hearing, open forum discussion or public comment.” Appellant’s Br. at 10. This argument is without merit because Walker & Patterson was afforded an evidentiary hearing on its fee request in which the bankruptcy court, while incorporating General Order 2004-5 into its analysis, considered and ruled on the disputed factual issues specific to Walker & Patterson’s claim. See In re United States Golf Corp., 639 F.2d 1197, 1202 (5th Cir. 1981) (requiring the bankruptcy court to hold an evidentiary hearing on an attorneys’ fee request if there are disputed factual issues). -9- basis using the lodestar analysis and flexible Johnson factors, ensuring that the lodestar amount in an atypical case will be adjusted to reflect the specifics of that case.7 Id. at 2. This approach strikes the proper balance between the need for efficient disposal of attorneys’ fee applications and the need for a flexible approach that provides for adjustment of the lodestar when necessary.8 In this case, the bankruptcy court did not abuse its 7 The majority of General Order 2004-5 consists of a discussion of the preapproval of reasonable fixed fee amounts in “typical” cases, using the lodestar calculation of $1737 and applying the § 330 and Johnson factors to determine a range of acceptable fixed fees that courts may preapprove with minimal scrutiny. We decline to address this portion of General Order 2004-5 because the fee arrangement in this case was not fixed. 8 Walker & Patterson suggests that the Sixth Circuit has rejected this line of reasoning in In re Boddy, 950 F.2d 334 (6th Cir. 1991), in holding that the bankruptcy court in that case abused its discretion by awarding a predetermined maximum attorneys’ fee amount for “normal and customary” legal services instead of adhering to the traditional lodestar method. That case is easily distinguished from the instant case, however, because the bankruptcy court in Boddy mechanically awarded the predetermined maximum fee without conducting any further analysis to determine whether the case was “normal and customary” or whether an adjustment of the fee amount was appropriate. Id. at 337. Consistent with our analysis in this case, the Sixth Circuit explained: [W]e do not hold that the bankruptcy court can never consider the “normal and customary” services rendered in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The court can legitimately take into account the typical compensation that is adequate for attorneys’ fees in Chapter 13 cases, as long as it expressly discusses these factors in light of the reasonable hours actually worked and a reasonable hourly rate. Id. at 338. -10- discretion by using the precalculated lodestar amount to determine Walker & Patterson’s fee award because it properly applied the § 330 and Johnson factors to the specific facts of the case, setting forth a reasoned analysis and providing reasons why the lodestar amount did not need to be adjusted. See In re Evangeline Refining Co., 890 F.2d at 1327-28 (emphasizing that a bankruptcy court must explain its reasons for its award of attorneys’ fees). Moreover, the bankruptcy court did not give the General Order lodestar calculation a disproportionate amount of weight in its analysis as Walker & Patterson suggests: Its findings that Walker & Patterson’s attorneys spent an unreasonable amount of time on the case, duplicated each other’s efforts, performed unnecessary work, were unprepared for the confirmation hearing, and were handling a case that presented no novel or complex issues support its conclusion that this case did not warrant an upward adjustment of the lodestar amount under § 330 or Johnson. Compare In re United States Golf Corp., 639 F.2d 1197, 1199 (5th Cir. 1981) (holding that the bankruptcy court abused its discretion by applying a predetermined “maximum limit” to reduce the requested amount of attorneys’ fees “despite the favorable findings [it] had made of the Johnson factors”).