Hundreds of dollars in car-service charges, meals costing $50 a head and overly expensive copying charges are among the expenses that a government watchdog is targeting in supermarket operator A&P’s bankruptcy case, the Wall Street Journal reported today. U.S. Trustee William K. Harrington recently filed court papers raising questions about thousands of dollars in expenses that several law and consulting firms incurred for their work on A&P’s liquidation. Charges must be “reasonable,” Harrington points out, and detailed explanations must be provided to help the judge and others evaluate the bills rather than forcing the judge and others to embark “on a treasure hunt” for crucial information. The trustee questions 17 pages’ worth of fees and expenses charged by A&P’s lead bankruptcy lawyers at Weil, Gotshal & Manges that he says lack detail, would be considered overhead and lack substantiation, among other causes for concern.
