Securities and Exchange Commission v. Gina Champion-Cain and ANI Development, LLC
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Todd W. Robinson (author)
Analysis
The court reviewed unopposed Fifteenth Interim Fee Applications from the Receiver and her counsel, along with a motion to seal a portion of the application. The court granted the motion to seal and approved the requested fees and costs, authorizing interim payments of 80% of fees and 100% of costs from the Receivership Estate.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Motion to Seal granted“the Court GRANTS the Motion. Accordingly, the Clerk SHALL FILE UNDER SEAL the document previously lodged under seal at ECF No. 1089.” | agree with court The court applied the 'good cause' standard from the Ninth Circuit precedent cited. As the motion was unopposed and the court found good cause, the decision follows standard procedure for sealing documents in this district. |
Fifteenth Interim Fee Applications granted“the Court GRANTS the Fee Applications.” | agree with court The court reviewed the applications and the record, finding them appropriate for approval. The order specifies the exact amounts allowed and the interim payment percentages (80% fees, 100% costs), which is consistent with typical receivership fee approval practices. |
The order itself: sound — The order is a routine, unopposed approval of fees and a motion to seal. It correctly cites the controlling Ninth Circuit authority for the sealing standard. The fee approval is based on the court's review of the record, which is the appropriate procedure for interim fee applications in a receivership. There are no complex legal issues requiring further analysis.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE Case No.: 19-CV-1628 TWR (AHG) COMMISSION, 12 ORDER (1) GRANTING MOTION Plaintiff, 13 TO SEAL, AND (2) APPROVING v. FIFTEENTH INTERIM FEE 14 APPLICATIONS GINA CHAMPION-CAIN and ANI 15 DEVELOPMENT, LLC, (ECF Nos. 1085, 1086, 1088, 1089) 16 Defendants, 17 AMERICAN NATIONAL 18 INVESTMENTS, INC., 19 Relief Defendant. 20 21 Presently before the Court are the unopposed Fifteenth Interim Fee Applications of 22 Krista L. Freitag, Court-Appointed Receiver (ECF No. 1085), and Allen Matkins Leck 23 Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP (“Allen Matkins”), General Counsel to the Receiver, Krista 24 L. Freitag (ECF Nos. 1086 (public), 1089 (lodged sealed version)), for Payment of Fees 25 and Reimbursement of Expenses (together, the “Fee Applications”), as well as a Motion 26 for Permission to File Portion of Fifteenth Interim Fee Application of Allen Matkins Under 27 Seal (“Mot. to Seal,” ECF No. 1088). The Court vacated the hearing and took the 28 / / / 1 Applications and Motion to Seal under submission on the papers without oral argument 2 || pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7.1(d)(1). (See ECF No. 1090.) 3 With regard to the Motion to Seal, having reviewed the document in question and 4 || good cause appearing, see Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1099 5 || (9th Cir. 2016); (see also ECF Nos. 310, 537, 639, 723, 774, 780, 908, 946, 962, 968, 1008, 6 ||/1016, 1048, 1080), the Court GRANTS the Motion. Accordingly, the Clerk SHALL 7 || FILE UNDER SEAL the document previously lodged under seal at ECF No. 1089. 8 As for the Fee Applications, having carefully reviewed the Fee Applications and the 9 || record, the Court GRANTS the Fee Applications. Accordingly, the Court ORDERS: 10 1. The Receiver’s fees and costs for the Fifteenth Application Period are 11 |] ALLOWED AND APPROVED, on an interim basis, in the amounts of $24,525.15 and 12 |/$1,871.93, respectively; 13 2. Allen Matkins’s fees and costs for the Fifteenth Application Period are 14 || ALLOWED AND APPROVED, on an interim basis, in the amounts of $127,755.90 and 15 $7,476.15, respectively; 16 3. The Receiver is AUTHORIZED AND DIRECTED to pay herself 17 ||$19,620.12 in fees and $1,871.93 in costs from assets of the Receivership Estate, which 18 |}amounts reflect an interim payment of 80% of the allowed fees and 100% of the allowed 19 || costs; and 20 4. The Receiver is AUTHORIZED AND DIRECTED to pay Allen Matkins 21 $102,204.72 in fees and $7,476.15 in costs from assets of the Receivership Estate, which 22 ||amounts reflect an interim payment of 80% of the allowed fees and 100% of the allowed 23 || costs. 24 IT IS SO ORDERED. 25 ||Dated: October 16, 2025 ——— (2 26 [on \ % (re 27 Honorable Todd W. Robinson 38 United States District Judge