Christie L. Hollowell

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UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
In re 	No. 09-49043 T
Chapter 11
CHRISTIE L. HOLLOWELL,
Debtor-in-Possession.
_______________________________/
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER RE MOTION FOR REVIEW OF FEES
The 	Office 	of 	the 	United 	States 	Trustee 	(the 	“UST”) 	filed 	a
motion 	for 	the 	review 	of 	the 	attorneys’ 	fees 	charged 	to 	the 	above-
captioned debtor (the “Debtor”) by Mitchell L. Abdallah (“Abdallah”)
pursuant 	to 	11 	U.S.C. 	§ 	329(b). 	Abdallah 	has 	already 	repaid 	the
Debtor $3,911 received for representing the Debtor in the chapter 11
bankruptcy case. 	The UST asks the Court to consider whether Abdallah
should also be required to repay the $4,000 received from the Debtor
for 	loan 	modification 	and 	other 	services. 	Abdallah 	failed 	to
disclose 	the 	receipt 	of 	these 	fees 	in 	the 	Statement 	of 	Financial
Affairs 	or 	in 	his 	employment 	application. 	Two 	thousand 	dollars 	of
this 	amount 	were 	obtained 	by 	Abdallah 	post-petition 	without 	the
Court’s permission.
Signed: July 12, 2010
________________________________________
LESLIE TCHAIKOVSKY
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge
________________________________________
Entered on Docket
July 13, 2010
GLORIA L. FRANKLIN, CLERK
U.S BANKRUPTCY COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
Case: 09-49043 Doc# 77 Filed: 07/12/10 Entered: 07/13/10 14:20:51 Page 1 of 4

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The Court has reviewed Abdallah’s billing statement. 	It appears
that 	the 	only 	loan 	modification 	work 	done 	was 	by 	a 	biller 	whose
hourly 	rate 	was 	$75. 	Based 	on 	the 	billing 	rates 	specified 	in
Abdallah’s 	employment 	application, 	the 	Court 	infers 	that 	this 	work
was 	done 	by 	a 	secretary. 	The 	work 	performed 	includes 	lengthy
communications with the lender. 	The Court does not believe that the
Debtor hired Abdallah so that loan modification efforts could be made
by 	an 	attorney’s 	secretary. 	The 	Debtor 	could 	have 	acted 	as
effectively on her own behalf free of charge.
From 	the 	billing 	statement, 	it 	appears 	that 	the 	total 	charges
for 	the 	work 	done 	by 	the 	secretary 	were 	only 	$365. 	Nevertheless,
when 	a 	loan 	modification 	was 	not 	obtained, 	Abdallah 	agreed 	to
transfer 	only 	$2,500 	of 	the 	remaining 	$3,635 	to 	an 	adversary
proceeding 	asserting 	TILA 	and 	other 	claims 	against 	the 	secured
creditor. 	The 	billing 	statement 	suggests 	that 	$4,103 	worth 	of
attorney and paralegal services were provided in connection with the
adversary proceeding, giving rise to fees totaling $4,103. 	However,
the value of those services is questionable.
Most 	of 	the 	complaint 	is 	boilerplate, 	reciting 	the 	well
publicized 	abuses 	that 	have 	occurred 	in 	the 	home 	mortgage 	industry
recently, 	without 	specific 	reference 	to 	the 	Debtor’s 	transaction.
Some 	of 	the 	facts 	alleged 	are 	clearly 	inaccurate. 	The 	Debtor 	is 	a
female. 	The 	complaint 	refers 	to 	the 	Debtor 	several 	times 	with 	a
masculine 	pronoun. 	The 	complaint 	alleges 	that 	the 	Debtor 	obtained
the loan to build her “dream house.” 	At a status conference in the
adversary proceeding conducted on July 8, 2010, the Court asked the
Case: 09-49043 Doc# 77 Filed: 07/12/10 Entered: 07/13/10 14:20:51 Page 2 of 4

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Debtor 	whether 	the 	residence 	serving 	as 	collateral 	for 	the 	secured
claim was new construction. 	She said that it was not.
Given 	Abdallah’s 	failure 	to 	disclose 	the 	fees 	received, 	his
violation of bankruptcy law in obtaining fees post-petition without
Court 	permission, 	and 	the 	poor 	quality 	of 	his 	work, 	the 	Court
concludes 	that 	it 	is 	inappropriate 	to 	permit 	him 	to 	retain 	any
portion 	of 	the 	$4,000 	received 	from 	the 	Debtor. 	Consequently,
Abdallah 	will 	be 	ordered 	to 	repay 	this 	amount 	to 	the 	Debtor 	within
30 days from the date of this order.
Based on the foregoing, good cause appearing therefor, it is
SO ORDERED.
END OF DOCUMENT
Case: 09-49043 Doc# 77 Filed: 07/12/10 Entered: 07/13/10 14:20:51 Page 3 of 4

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COURT SERVICE LIST
Christie L. Hollowell
11925 Skyline Blvd.
Oakland, CA 94619
Mitchell L. Abdallah
Abdallah Law Group
980 9th St. 16th Fl.
Sacramento, CA 95814
Case: 09-49043 Doc# 77 Filed: 07/12/10 Entered: 07/13/10 14:20:51 Page 4 of 4