United States Securities and Exchange Commission v. Qin
- Lorna Schofield
- 1:20-cv-10849
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In United States Securities and Exchange Commission v. Qin, Judge Schofield granted the receiver’s fee application and authorized payment of the requested amounts.
The court-appointed receiver, BakerHostetler, Ankura Consulting Group, Nelsons Attorneys-at-Law, and the receivership estate were directly affected. The receiver was authorized to pay the approved fees and expenses.
What happened
In United States Securities and Exchange Commission v. Qin, the court-appointed receiver sought approval of fees and expenses incurred from July 1 through September 30, 2021. The request covered $1,029,228.78 for BakerHostetler, $668,477.10 for Ankura Consulting Group, and $135 for Nelsons Attorneys-at-Law.
The receiver’s team performed work including recovering and liquidating assets, investigating possible holders of receivership property, responding to investors, issuing subpoenas and information requests, interviewing witnesses, and managing claims. The Securities and Exchange Commission reviewed and approved the request, and the team had discounted its ordinary hourly rates and written off some fees.
Judge Schofield granted the fee application and authorized the receiver to pay the requested amounts. She also ordered that future fee applications describe the work performed and the specific benefits obtained for the receivership estate during the relevant period.
The detailed version
- United States Securities and Exchange Commission v. Qin · No. 1:20-cv-10849
- Lorna Schofield
- Jan. 20, 2022
Background
On December 30, 2021, court-appointed Receiver Robert A. Musiala, Jr., of BakerHostetler submitted a third fee application. The application sought approval of fees and expenses incurred from July 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021.
The requested payments were $1,029,228.78 for BakerHostetler, $668,477.10 for Ankura Consulting Group, and $135 for Nelsons Attorneys-at-Law, Ltd. The receiver and the receiver team submitted invoices describing their work.
Court’s Analysis
The court explained that a receiver who reasonably and diligently performs court-assigned duties is entitled to fair compensation. It evaluates a receiver’s fee application in its discretion, considering factors such as the complexity of the work, the benefits to the receivership estate, the quality of the work, the hourly rates, the hours billed, and the time records. The court also noted that the Securities and Exchange Commission had reviewed and approved the application, which receives significant weight in evaluating the requested compensation.
The court found that the receiver team continued to perform complex and time-intensive work. During the application period, the team asserted, negotiated, and settled claims to receivership property; took custody of property; investigated third parties who might possess receivership property; liquidated cryptocurrency assets; responded to investor inquiries; prepared and managed subpoenas and information requests; froze third-party assets; interviewed witnesses; analyzed data from hardware devices and other sources; and managed claims by former employees and investors. The court also noted that the team’s hourly rates were significantly discounted, with fee discounts and write-offs during the period totaling $501,554 for the receiver and $294,543.50 for Ankura.
Ruling
Judge Lorna G. Schofield ordered that the third fee application was granted. The receiver was authorized to make payments for all amounts requested in the application. The court further ordered that future fee applications describe the work performed during the applicable period, including the specific benefits obtained for the receivership estate.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.