United States Securities and Exchange Commission v. Qin
- Lorna Schofield
- 1:20-cv-10849
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In United States Securities and Exchange Commission v. Qin, Judge Schofield granted the receiver’s fee application for work performed from October through December 2022.
The court-appointed receiver and the Receiver Team were authorized to receive the requested fees and expenses, with the payments made in connection with the receivership estate.
What happened
In United States Securities and Exchange Commission v. Qin, a court-appointed receiver requested approval of fees and expenses for work performed from October 1 through December 31, 2022. The request covered BakerHostetler, Ankura Consulting Group, the Law Office of Dennis O. Cohen, Nelsons Attorneys-at-Law, and Miller Kaplan Arase.
The court said the receiver’s team performed complex work for the receivership estate, including investigating and preserving cryptocurrency assets, interviewing witnesses, issuing subpoenas, converting cryptocurrency to U.S. dollars, and reaching settlements. The Securities and Exchange Commission reviewed and approved the request, and the team had discounted its usual hourly rates and written off some fees.
Judge Lorna G. Schofield granted the Eighth Fee Application and authorized the receiver to make all requested payments.
The detailed version
- United States Securities and Exchange Commission v. Qin · No. 1:20-cv-10849
- Lorna Schofield
- June 29, 2023
Background
On January 21, 2021, Robert A. Musiala, Jr., of BakerHostetler was appointed as the receiver in the action. A receiver is a person appointed by a court to manage and preserve property involved in a case. On March 31, 2023, the receiver submitted the Eighth Fee Application, seeking payment for fees and expenses incurred from October 1 through December 31, 2022.
The application requested $463,745.72 for BakerHostetler; $303,927.06 for Ankura Consulting Group, LLC; $5,750 for the Law Office of Dennis O. Cohen, PLLC; $135 for Nelsons Attorneys-at-Law, Ltd.; and $13,326 for Miller Kaplan Arase, LLP. The opinion collectively refers to these entities as the Receiver Team.
Court’s Analysis
The court explained that a receiver who reasonably and diligently performs the receiver’s duties is entitled to fair compensation for services and expenses. The court evaluates the reasonableness of a fee application by considering factors including the complexity of the work, its benefits to the receivership estate, the quality of the work, and the time records. The court also gives substantial weight to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of the application.
The invoices showed that the Receiver Team performed significant and complex work for the receivership estate. The work included investigating potential receivership property in the form of cryptocurrencies, taking steps to preserve its value, interviewing witnesses, issuing subpoenas, converting cryptocurrency assets into U.S. dollars, and executing settlement agreements. The hourly rates remained substantially discounted from the ordinary rates of the receiver and Ankura. For the application period, the receiver and Ankura reported fee discounts and write-offs of $331,330.50 and $123,336.50, respectively.
Disposition
Judge Lorna G. Schofield ordered that the Eighth Fee Application was GRANTED. The receiver was authorized to make payments for all amounts requested in the application.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.