Sylvester v. Rivera-Fulton ( 2022 )

Case: 22-30024 Document: 00516377878 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/30/2022
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
No. 22-30024 June 30, 2022
Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
In the Matter of: Sharon Sylvester,
Debtor,
Sharon Sylvester,
Appellant,
versus
Barbara Rivera-Fulton,
Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Louisiana
USDC No. 2:20-CV-1083
Before Southwick, Oldham, and Wilson, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam:*
Sharon Sylvester went bankrupt. At the end of her Chapter 7
proceeding, the bankruptcy court ordered her to pay certain fees to the
*
Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this
opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited
circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4.
Case: 22-30024 Document: 00516377878 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/30/2022
No. 22-30024
trustee and a law firm that assisted the trustee. The present appeal involves
the bankruptcy court’s award of fees to the trustee.
In affirming the award of fees to the trustee, the district court
principally relied on its prior opinion awarding fees to the law firm. In re
Sylvester, No. 20-CV-2469, 2021 WL 807248 (E.D. La. Mar. 2, 2021). The
next month, however, we vacated and remanded the award of attorney’s fees,
concluding that the bankruptcy court applied the wrong legal standard. See
Matter of Sylvester, 23 F.4th 543 (5th Cir. 2022). Because the questions
regarding fees in both matters are intertwined, we VACATE and
REMAND for further proceedings consistent our recent decision.
2