Behles-Giddens,P.A. v. Angel Project I ( 2000 )

F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS JAN 18 2000
TENTH CIRCUIT PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
BEHLES-GIDDENS, P.A., now known
as J.D. BEHLES AND ASSOCIATES,
P.C.,
Appellant, No. 98-2198
vs. (D.C. No. CIV-97-1127 JC/RLP)
(D. New Mexico)
ANGEL PROJECT I, LTD., and
UNITED STATES TRUSTEE,
Appellees.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT*
Before BRORBY and McWILLIAMS, Circuit Judges, and WEST, District Judge1
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Appellant Behles-Giddens, P.A. (Behles-Giddens), was employed pursuant to title 11,
section 1103 of the United States Code as legal counsel for a property owners’ committee
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the
*
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata and collateral estoppel. Citation of
orders and judgment is generally disfavored; nevertheless, an order and
judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
The Honorable Lee R. West, Senior United States District Judge for
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the Western District of Oklahoma, sitting by designation.
appointed in a bankruptcy proceeding involving Angel Fire Corporation.2 In re Angel Fire
Corporation, No. 11-93-12176. As such, Behles-Giddens was required to have its fees and
expenses approved by the bankruptcy court. 11 U.S.C. §§ 330(a)(1), 1103.
In an Order dated September 18, 1995, the Honorable Stewart Rose, United States
Bankruptcy Judge for the District of New Mexico, after a hearing on Behles-Giddens’
second, third and fourth Applications for Compensation, awarded Behles-Giddens the total
sum of $535,507.05 in attorneys’ fees. The Order was appealed to the district court and the
matter was assigned to the Honorable Santiago E. Campos, United States District Court for
the District of New Mexico, who referred it to United States Magistrate Judge Richard L.
Puglisi.
Magistrate Judge Puglisi deemed Judge Rose’s factual findings inadequate and the
legal basis used indeterminable and he recommended that the matter be remanded. Judge
Campos adopted the recommended disposition and the matter was remanded to the
bankruptcy court on October 3, 1996.
The case was eventually transferred to the Honorable Roland J. Brumbaugh, United
States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of New Mexico, in June 1997. On August 11, 1997,
Judge Brumbaugh, after reviewing a transcript of the earlier hearing, again awarded fees to
Behles-Giddens in the amount of $535,507.05. He also prohibited Behles-Giddens from
Although this bankruptcy proceeding was consolidated for
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administrative purposes with proceedings involving four wholly-owned
subsidiaries, the property owners’ committee was appointed only in the
Angel Fire Corporation matter.
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submitting any further applications for compensation. Behles-Giddens again appealed to the
district court. The matter was assigned to the Honorable John Conway, United States District
Judge for the District of New Mexico, who in turn referred the matter to Magistrate Judge
Puglisi.
On June 22, 1998, Magistrate Judge Puglisi recommended that Judge Brumbaugh’s
Memorandum Opinion and Order be affirmed and on July 15, 1998, Judge Conway adopted
that recommendation. This appeal followed.
Behles-Giddens has raised numerous issues on appeal. Having reviewed the factual
findings made by Judge Brumbaugh under a “clearly erroneous” standard and having
considered de novo the questions of law, e.g., Virginia Beach Federal Savings and Loan
Ass’n v. Wood, 901 F.2d 849 (10th Cir. 1990), we find Behles-Giddens has raised no issue
that warrants the relief requested.
Title 11, section 330 of the United States Code authorizes a bankruptcy court to award
“reasonable compensation for actual, necessary services . . . .” 11 U.S.C. § 330(a)(1)(A).
“An element of whether the services were ‘necessary’ is whether they benefitted the
bankruptcy estate.” In re Lederman Enterprises, Inc. , 997 F.2d 1321, 1323 (10 th
Cir.
1993)(citation omitted). A determination of whether the claimed services were actual and/or
necessary is dispositive of the issues presented in this case.
Based upon our review of the record, we find the award of $535,507.05 is reasonable
compensation for the actual and necessary services rendered by Behles-Giddens.
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Accordingly, we AFFIRM for substantially the same reasons set forth in Judge Brumbaugh’s
Memorandum Opinion and Order dated August 11, 1997, and Magistrate Judge Puglisi’s
Proposed Analysis and Recommended Disposition dated June 22, 1998, which were adopted
and affirmed by Judge Conway on July 15, 1998.
Entered for the Court
Lee R. West
Senior District Judge
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