In re: DiBattista, No. 20-4067 (2d Cir. 2022)
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Appellant, a law firm, challenged the district court’s order affirming the bankruptcy court’s denial of the firm’s request for appellate attorneys’ fees. The bankruptcy court determined that it lacked the authority to award appellate attorneys’ fees, and the district court agreed.
The Second Circuit vacated the order of the district court with instructions to remand to the bankruptcy court to consider whether appellate fees ought to be awarded. The court held that a bankruptcy court’s traditional power to impose contempt sanctions carries with it the authority to award damages and attorneys’ fees – including appellate attorneys’ fees. The court reasoned that it is well settled that a bankruptcy court may compensate a debtor for a creditor’s violation of its discharge order. Further, the failure to compensate the victim of contempt with appellate fees could leave the victim worse off for seeking to enforce a discharge order and would, at the very least, discount any compensatory damages award. Thus, the court found that the bankruptcy court’s denial of Appellant’s request for appellate fees was based on an erroneous view of the law and was, therefore, an abuse of discretion.
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