Gary M. Pusateri

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
In re
GARY M. PUSATERI,
Debtor.
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Case No. 09-00583
(Chapter 13)
Not for Publication in
West’s Bankruptcy Reporter
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND
ORDER PARTIALLY ALLOWING FEE APPLICATION
The debtor’s counsel seeks $7,977.50 in fees and expenses
($7,752.50 in fees and $225.00 in expenses). 	The court will
allow $4,500.00 in fees at this time, and defer ruling on the
balance of the application until counsel has an opportunity to
file an amended Rule 2016(b) statement that is consistent (or
more consistent) with the fee application, and an amended fee
application that discloses the expenses incurred.
I
The attorney's Rule 2016(b) statement discloses that in
return for a fee of $4,500.00 he agreed “to render legal service
for all aspects of the bankruptcy case,” but excluding
“[r]epresentation of the debtors [sic] in any dischargeability
actions, judicial lien avoidances, relief from stay actions or
The document below is hereby signed.
Signed: October 22, 2009.
_____________________________
S. Martin Teel, Jr.
United States Bankruptcy Judge
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1 	This assumes that by such entries as “0.30 minutes” the
debtor’s counsel means 30 minutes and not three tenths of a
minute (and not .30 hours). 	The debtor’s attorney’s calculation
of total time does not jibe with any of those interpretations.
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any other adversary proceeding.” 	The fee application does not
disclose that the attorney represented the debtor in any such
excluded matters. 	Moreover, the Rule 2016(b) statement fails to
disclose the agreed compensation ($350/hr.) for work not covered
by the $4,500.00.
II
It may be that the debtor and the attorney agreed that one
aspect of his work, the handling of a real estate transaction
(9.92 hours 1 of work by my calculation) or $2,852.50 in fees at
$350.00 per hour), was not to be covered by the $4,500.00. 	But
the Rule 2016(b) statement does not say that.
Moreover, even if there were such an agreement and it had
been disclosed, it would be inappropriate to bill all of the work
at an hourly rate. 	Only work not covered by the $4,500.00 ought
to be billed at the hourly rate.
If all of the work was to be billed at an hourly rate, one
of the entries (1.0 hours for preparing a motion to enlarge time
to file schedules) appears unreasonable because one hour exceeds
the time it should take to prepare a routine motion to enlarge
time.
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III
The remaining issue is expenses. 	Reimbursement of expenses
is treated by the Bankruptcy Code as distinct from compensation
for services in the case of professionals employed by a trustee,
see 11 U.S.C. § 330(a)(1)(B), but in the case of counsel for a
chapter 13 trustee, 11 U.S.C. § 330(a)(4)(B) permits “reasonable
compensation to the debtor’s attorney for representing the
interests of the debtor in connection with the bankruptcy case,”
and I will assume that such compensation for services includes
compensation for incurring expenses on behalf of the debtor.
But by the same token, a disclosure under 11 U.S.C. § 327(a)
and Rule 2016(b) ought to include a statement regarding any
amount agreed to be paid for the service of incurring expenses on
the debtor’s behalf. 	A chapter 13 debtor’s attorney cannot have
it both ways, treating expenses incurred as reimbursable as
“services” under § 330(a)(4)(B) but not as “services” for
purposes of § 327(a) and Rule 2016(b). 	Because the Rule 2016(b)
statement here is silent on the point, it must be presumed that
the $4,500.00 was to cover any such expenses incurred.
Many attorneys charge a flat fee in a case which includes
expenses incurred such as postage and photocopying. 	If the flat
fee is not to include such expenses and the debtor has agreed to
pay those separately, an attorney’s Rule 2016(b) statement ought
to disclose that.
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If, here, there was an agreement that expenses were on top
of the $4,500.00, and the Rule 2016(b) statement were amended to
reflect that agreeement, the application fails to provide
adequate detail regarding the expenses because it only lists
“Expenses: copying; postage; internet; travel” in an aggregate
amount of $225.00, and lacks the detail required by Local
Bankruptcy Rule 2016-2(i).
IV
In accordance with the foregoing, it is
ORDERED that the debtor’s attorney’s application (Dkt. No.
38) for compensation is allowed as to $4,500.00 of the amounts
sought, and the chapter 13 trustee shall pay that amount as an
allowed administrative claim in this case. 	It is further
ORDERED that the court defers ruling on the balance of the
amounts sought by the application, and within 21 days after entry
of this order, the debtor’s counsel shall have the opportunity,
before the court makes that ruling, to file an amended Rule
2016(b) statement and an amendment to his fee application.
[Signed and dated above.]
Copies to: Debtor; Debtor’s attorney; Chapter 13 Trustee.
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