In news that should surprise absolutely no one, embattled Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt is possibly being grossly over-billed by his bankruptcy attorneys. In fact, his case’s federal trustee is alleging that the firms of Dewey & LeBoeuf of Los Angeles and Young, Conaway, Stargatt & Taylor of Delaware have overcharged McCourt for consultation by as much as 21%. He currently owes more than $1.66 million in lawyer fees, of which $352,000 should not be owed.
Seriously, who gave this moron money?
The trustee argued that the firms should not be paid for efforts to keep confidential the fees associated with Dodgers owner Frank McCourt’s initial financing proposal and should not be paid for efforts to pursue that loan even after Major League Baseball countered by offering an unsecured loan.
“It should have been apparent to Debtors’ highly experienced and highly qualified bankruptcy counsel” that the efforts on both fronts were not necessary and did not benefit the Dodgers and thus were “not compensable,” according to the filing. (Via The Los Angeles Times)
Of course both firms are denying that they’ve overcharged and they contend that they’re owed every penny. And knowing a little about how the legal system works, I’m pretty positive that they’ll get every penny. It just goes to show that my old theory stands strong – you can never trust anyone named LaBoeuf.
