Woman Charged With Harassment

Agnes Shipp 
January 13, 1997 
Agnes Shipp, Formerly Of Garfield Street, Honey Pot Section Of Nanticoke, Died 
Monday At The Nanticoke Villa, Where She Was A Resident For The Past Three 
Years.

By JERRY LYNOTT; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Thursday, January 16, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 10A 





WILKES-BARRE -- The attorney and trustee who played major roles in the
long-running Blue Coal bankruptcy case received nearly half the compensation
requested for years of work, according to a court order Wednesday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The decision, unless appealed, ends the 21-year bankruptcy case, purported
to be the longest-running in the nation. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Attorney Frank McDonnell, the trustee whom the order said took the case "to
the brink of completion," received $309,991.42, less earlier payments totaling
$87,584.28. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The order by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge John Thomas nearly halved the
$619,982.83 sought by McDonnell. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 McDonnell, who has not seen the order, said Wednesday night, "Judge Thomas
has always been a very astute and fair judge in all of his decisions in this
case." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 When asked if the award was satisfactory, McDonnell replied, "surely." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Thomas determined McDonnell and his predecessor and law partner, attorney
James Haggerty, performed considerable work as trustees. But because they
failed to show they operated the former Blue Coal company while it was
bankrupt, the judge calculated a lesser payment. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 McDonnell replaced Haggerty in 1987 and "inherited a bankruptcy case that
was in its 11th year," Thomas wrote. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Thomas credited attorney John Doran, McDonnell's counsel, with taking the
lead in what might be the nation's lengthiest bankruptcy case. If it had not
been for Doran placing Blue Coal in involuntary bankruptcy in 1976, company
creditors would not have "seen a dime of payment," Thomas wrote in a separate
opinion for Doran. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Thomas granted Doran and his firm, Doran and Nowalis of Wilkes-Barre,
$117,500 of the $250,000 in bonus compensation requested. The firm has
received a total settlement of $1,347,351 in fees for more than 12,000 hours
of work. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Doran, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday night, put his life
in danger while handling the case, according to Thomas' order. Some of the
parties involved in the case "would not limit themselves to legal defenses.
This perceived threat was not entirely unsupported in that the famous James
`Jimmy' Hoffa proved to be an investor in the Blue Coal property, through a
straw party, before his unexplained disappearance," Thomas wrote. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Doran and McDonnell parted ways in 1993 during a hearing for the bulk sale
of the 17,000-acre Blue Coal property to the Earth Conservancy. McDonnell
fired Doran for refusing to call an expert witness at the hearing. McDonnell
hired new counsel and displayed a new attitude while pursuing the sale to the
end. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The conservancy, the creation of U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke,
bought the land for more than $14 million in 1994 as part of plan to transform
it into valuable real estate. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Thomas also granted payments for other parties involved in the case: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 $14,881.38 to the law firm of Dilworth, Paxson, Kalish &amp; Kauffman for
representation of the trustee. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 $3,765.60 to attorney Joseph Price and the law firm of Dougherty,
Leventhal, Price &amp; Saba special counsel to the trustee. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 $52,852.87 to McGrail, Merkel, Quinn &amp; Associates, accountants for the
trustee. Thomas allowed the firm to file additional requests that do not
exceed a total of $20,000 in fees and expenses. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 $354,140.81 to the law firm of Klett, Lieber, Rooney &amp; Schorling, counsel
for the trustee. Thomas withdraw $50,000 from the total compensation of
$404,140.81 and allowed the firm to make additional requests not to exceed
$26,000. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Payment To Attorney Ends 21-year Blue Coal Bankruptcy Case 
Had Court Action Not Been Initiated, Creditors 
Likely Would Not Have `seen A Dime Of Payment,' 
Wrote The Judge

Payment To Attorney Ends 21-year Blue Coal Bankruptcy Case Had Court Action Not Been Initiated, Creditors Likely Would Not Have `seen A Dime Of Payment,' Wrote The Judge