Office of the U.S. Trustee v. Hayes (In re Bishop, Baldwin, Rewald, Dillingham & Wong, Inc.)

The United States Trustee (U.S. Trustee) appeals from the district court’s order overruling the objection to Reynaldo Graulty’s final report as trustee for the Bishop Estate (Estate). The district court had jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 157 (d). We have jurisdiction over this timely appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we vacate the district court’s order and remand this case for 56 days for clarification.

During 1990-1992, Graulty was trustee for the Estate. Mary Louise Scheulin, as an employee of the Estate, oversaw its day-today operations during that time and incurred both salaxy and rent expenses. Scheulin was hired by the Estate’s administrative controller, Thomas Hayes, whom Graulty hired with the district court’s approval. Over the U.S. Trustee’s objection, the district court, on May 26, 1995, approved Graulty’s final report for the Estate. In that report, the Estate, and not Graulty, was responsible for Scheulin’s expenses. The U.S.Trustee again objected that the workload of the Estate did not justify Scheulin’s employment, and argued that someone else — presumably Graulty — should be responsible for Scheulin’s expenses. The district court once more…