Before lawyers can start racking up the billable hours in Detroit’s chapter 9 case, Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes said that he wants to appoint an examiner to make sure fees charged to the city are fully disclosed and reasonable, Reuters reported yesterday. While fee examiners have been appointed in many of the biggest corporate bankruptcies, Judge Rhodes appears to be the first judge to propose one in a chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy, according to a search of the Westlaw legal database. Legal experts said that making the appointment may stretch Rhodes’ authority and that the city’s lawyers would have grounds to contest an examiner. Some experts said that it is unlikely lawyers will object to added oversight given that they are being paid from taxpayer funds.
