Liberty House
bankruptcy fees mount
The year-old filing is the
By Peter Wagner
most expensive in Hawaii's history
Star-Bulletin
Professional fees in the ongoing Liberty House bankruptcy will top $6.4 million if the latest round of requests are approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
A dozen legal and consulting firms have asked the court to approve $1,324,952 in compensation for services and expenses between Feb. 1 and May 31.
Fees already approved by the court, from the March 19, 1998 bankruptcy filing through January of this year, total $5,098,086.
The $1.3 million request is the smallest of three submittals put before the court since the case was opened last year. The court approved $1.7 million in April and about $3.3 million in December.
Leading the individual fee requests this time around, as in earlier requests, was New York consulting firm Zolfo Cooper, which is asking for $502,909 in fees and expenses.
The company is helping Liberty House put together business and reorganization plans under the Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Next in size is a $293,319 compensation request from Los Angeles legal firm Hennigan, Mercer and Bennett, the lead law firm representing Liberty House in the case. Honolulu legal firm Case Bigelow and Lombardi, co-counsel to Liberty House, is asking for $137,528.
The Liberty House bankruptcy, the biggest and most complex in the state's history, has eclipsed the Hawaiian Airlines Chapter 11 reorganization, filed in 1993 and wrapped up at a cost of $5.4 million in legal and professional fees.
