Legal and consulting fees in the Diamond Comic Distributors bankruptcy case have now topped $15 million since the filing, after a big August. The transactions to acquire most of the company’s assets closed in May, but as we predicted last month (see “Diamond Fees Top $1 Million in July“), fees are not only continuing but actually increasing as the result of the various disputes in which Diamond is entangled (see “Diamond Fees Top $1 Million in July“).
August fees totaled $1,306.210, based on compensation requests submitted to the court. The biggest bill was from Diamond attorneys Saul Ewing LLP, who billed $649,621 in fees and expenses. During August, Saul Ewing handled the dispute with Diamond consignors over the fate of the inventory in Diamond’s warehouse, which Diamond seeks to seize and sell; a settlement with Image Comics on its inventory; a motion to force Diamond acquirer Sparkle Pop to stop selling consignment inventory and turn over the proceeds; as well as the two adversary proceedings involving Diamond, filed in the bankruptcy court by Alliance Entertainment and Sparkle Pop LLC.
Restructuring consultants Getzler Henrich & Associates LLC requested $421,670; UK counsel Stephenson Harwood LLP requested $117,746 (the sale of Diamond UK assets took place during the reporting period); the Unsecured Creditor Committee’s attorneys Tydings & Rosenberg LLP and Lowenstein Sandler LLP and consultants Berkeley Research Group LLC requested $25,494, $82,621, and $9058, respectively.
That brings the grand total of fees and expenses generated by professionals in the bankruptcy case to just over $15 million since filing, reducing the amount available to pay creditors by a corresponding amount. That number, of course, does not include money spent on fees by companies other than Diamond and the Unsecured Creditor Committee, including consignor publishers trying to protect their inventory, suppliers trying to get paid, and the companies in disputes with Diamond.
Source: ICv2
