Opinion
Decided April 15th, 1928.
1. Chancery will not fix fees in a receivership action instituted in the federal courts.
2. In fixing the allowance of a receiver, the quantum of the estate must be taken into consideration as well as the services rendered.
Mr. Jacob L. Newman, for the defendant.
Mr. Meyer C. Ellenstein, for the complainant.
This is an application to fix allowances in a receivership.
The allowances asked for by the receiver and his counsel aggregate $15,000. The estate in this jurisdiction amounts to $24,248.80.
Receivership proceedings were also instituted in the federal courts to collect an insurance policy of between $23,000 and $24,000. They are still pending.
Statements of services rendered have been filed and memoranda submitted. In the first place, I shall make no attempt to fix any fees in a proceeding in the federal courts. The matter is not within the jurisdiction of this court.
This leaves the question of the allowance in the estate totalling $24,000. I realize that due consideration should be given to services rendered and I have no doubt this receivership was ably handled. The quantum of the estate must also be taken into consideration.
I have stated this in Bock v. Columbia Brewing Co., 99 N.J. Eq. 617.
In that case I held eighteen per cent. of the quantum of the estate was excessive. In the case now under consideration the request for allowances is sixty-one per cent. In the Columbia Brewing Company Case the services were, perhaps, not as great as in the matter now before me. I allowed eight per cent.
In this case I shall allow $4,000, which is a little over twelve per cent., and which I consider ample for the services rendered. These fees are in full for all services to be compensated for by this court.
I will allow the special master for auditing the account $300 and to the appraisers $50 each.