An upstate bankruptcy attorney who did not keep time records in a case because he was charging a flat rate will forego about two-thirds of the agreed-upon fee because he could not prove the compensation was reasonable. The unusual matter involves a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition that attorney Craig Humpleby of Syracuse agreed to file for a client for $3,700, the maximum allowed for filing such a case with the Utica division of the Northern District court.
Humpleby was paid $1,226 up front, but the Chapter 13 repayment plan was not confirmed. Nevertheless, he petitioned Bankruptcy Judge Diane Davis (See Profile) for the remaining $2,474 he was owed. Davis asked Humpleby to provide time records to justify the fee. But Humpleby explained that he did not keep records because he was charging a flat rate rather than his usual $250 to $350 hourly rate.
