Szwak v. Earwood (In Re Bodenheimer, Jones, Szwak, & Winchell L.L.P.)

REAVLEY, Circuit Judge:

Appellant David Szwak appeals the district court’s order affirming the bankruptcy award to Appellee Dale Earwood of $45,227.53 for his services and expenses as a state-law liquidator and later as a federally superseded custodian of a now-bankrupt law firm. Because the bankruptcy court failed to consider how Earwood’s services and expenses met the terms of 11 U.S.C. § 543(a) and benefitted the bankruptcy estate when determining whether they qualified as an administrative expense, we hold the award to be error and an abuse of the bankruptcy court’s discretion.…