In Re 5900 Associates

Fred J. Dery, the trustee of the bankruptcy estate of 5900 Associates, Inc., seeks to set aside the debtors transfer of property to Cumberland Casualty & Surety Co. ("Cumberland") as a fraudulent transfer under M.C.L. 566.35. Dery may prevail under the statute only if the debtor was insolvent at the time of the transfer. The debtors solvency in this case turns on the enforceability of a claim for attorneys fees from a prior bankruptcy case that was dismissed. The bankruptcy court in the instant case held that the claim for fees from the prior case was unenforceable because the debtors attorney never sought bankruptcy court approval of those fees under 11 U.S.C. 330(a). The district court affirmed. We agree that 11 U.S.C. 330 establishes the exclusive means of allowing a claim for professional fees in a bankruptcy proceeding. We therefore affirm the judgment of the bankruptcy court.