United States Trustee v. Equipment Services, Inc. (In Re Equipment Services, Inc.)

OPINION

JONES, District Judge.

The question in this bankruptcy case is whether a debtor’s attorney is entitled to payment of a fee from a pre-petition retainer held by the attorney, for services rendered after the bankruptcy case had been converted to chapter 7. While I hold that a 1994 amendment to the Bankruptcy Code withdrew the power of the bankruptcy court to award a fee to a chapter 7 debtor’s attorney from the funds of the bankruptcy estate, I find that it was permissible under the facts of this case for the debtor’s attorney to be paid from the pre-petition retainer.

I

The debtor,…