BANKRUPTCY CORNER
Circumventing th
Nunc P
JASON S. RIGOLI
On February 24, 2020, the United States
Supreme Court effectively banned nunc
pro tunc orders, which are often used
in bankruptcy to make retention orders
effective when the application or petition
was filed. See Roman Catholic Archdiocese
of San Juan v. Acevedo Feliciano, 140 S. Ct.
696, 206, L. Ed. 2d (Sup. Ct. Feb. 24, 2020).
What are bankruptcy practitioners and
courts to do when professionals have
begun performing services weeks before
the application for employment is filed
and approved? Judge Robert E. Grossman,
United States Bankruptcy Court, Eastern
District of New York, came up with a
creative solution in In re Benitez, Case No.
8-19-70230-reg, 2020 WL 1272258 (Mar. 13,
2020 Bankr. E.D.N.Y).
The issue can be resolved when approving
compensation to these professionals.
Looking at the language of sections 327 and
330 of the Bankruptc
Rule of Bankruptcy P
Grossman found
The only temporal
Code and Rules is
must have been re
section 327 to succes
award of compensati
professional must be
by the statute, but
retained, the bankru
compensation him for
the estate at any time
approval, in accordan
the Code.
Benitez, at *2. Meanin
award compensation
prior to the Bankruptc
the retention, so lon
Court approved the pr
and the compensa
ExpEriEncEd court AppointEd
RECEIVER
• Receiver - 17th Florida Judicial Circuit
• Receiver - 19th Florida Judicial Circuit
• 30 Year Florida Commercial Real Estate Broker
• Multi-Family, Office, Industrial, Retail
• Palm Beach, Broward, Treasure Coast Counties
• CCIM Designation, Expert Witness
• Diversified Business Experience
• Former Director, Realtors Assoc. of Palm Beach
• Former President, RAPB Commercial Alliance
Edward A. Kearney
President
Kearney Commercial Realty, Inc.
3017 Exchange Court, Suite D
West Palm Beach, FL 33409
(561) 252-2502
ed@kearneyreal.com