The Bankruptcy Appellate Panel affirmed an order of the bankruptcy court. The court held that the bankruptcy court acted within its broad discretion in entirely disallowing as unreasonable a claim of $80,869.33 for unpaid prepetition attorneys fees and costs incurred in an adversary action, where the claim was based upon approximately $125,000 total fees and costs incurred but the recovery in the action could never have exceeded $82,000.
Ontson and Lori Placide (Placides) entered into a contract with Lamar Edison for construction and remodeling services on their home. The relationship soured. Placides sued Edison in state court for breach of contract and other claims. In a pretrial stipulation, Placides agreed to settle the matter for $82,000 any plus attorneys fees and costs incurred to enforce the stipulation.
