Judge reduces legal fees, costs by 7% in church bankruptcy case

HAGATNA (GUAM)
Pacific Daily News

Nov. 19, 2019

By Haidee Eugenio Gilbert

A federal judge reduced by 7% or about $23,218.67 the legal fees and reimbursable costs in the Archdiocese of Agana’s bankruptcy case, after finding duplicate, inconsistent and erroneous billing entries.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood approved a $302,164.20 payment, down from $325,382.87, to Idaho-based Elsaesser Anderson Chtd., the archdiocese’s bankruptcy counsel.

The archdiocese sought bankruptcy protection in January, under the weight of clergy sex abuse claims totaling more than $1 billion.

Efforts to settle the cases, however, have recently collapsed and parties await direction from the court.

This is Elsaesser Anderson’s first professional fee application filed, for services rendered between Jan. 16 and July 31 this year.

“The compensation sought in the First Fee Application, as adjusted at the November 8, 2019 hearing, is reasonable compensation for actual and necessary services that benefited the estate,” the judge wrote in her order.

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