OTTUMWA —
A Van Buren attorney, who served as guardian ad litem and attorney for Shawn Bentler’s two children in a probate case, has lost his appeal in regards to attorney fees he sought.
The Iowa Appeals Court upheld a district court ruling which reduced the amount requested by Steven Westercamp.
Westercamp’s application for attorney fee expenses, in addition to what he had been paid, were cut from $85,000 to $47,000 by Van Buren District Court Judge Dan Wilson. He had already been paid $65,000 by the estate for his services in representing Bentler’s two children.
Wilson was appointed to preside over the entire estate, which occupies more than one file drawer in the Van Buren County Clerk’s Office and several times the space than that of the criminal case.
The litigation flows from the murders of Bentler’s parents, Michael and Sandra, in October of 2006. Their estate was valued at $2.8 million.
Michael Bentler’s siblings, Sandra Bentler’s parents and the two mothers of Shawn Bentler’s two children became embroiled in a court battle to divide the estate. Westercamp was appointed guardian ad litem and attorney for Shawn Bentler’s children. In that capacity, he argued that they should receive the entire estate.
Shawn Bentler was convicted of his parents’ murders as well as the murder of his three teenage sisters at the family’s rural Bonaparte home and was not entitled to the estate, because of the “Slayer Statute,” which prevented him from receiving any property of the estate.
Originally, the district court ruled that Shawn Bentler’s children were entitled to the entire estate. The children’s mothers attempted to negotiate a settlement of $280,000 with other potential beneficiaries of the estate. But the district court ruled that the mothers did not have authority to enter into such a settlement agreement. The district court also ruled that the settlement was not in the best interest of the children.
Several parties sought to have Westercamp removed as the guardian ad litem on the ground that his representation of the minors had contributed to the increased expense of administering the estate as well as increased acrimony amongst counsel. The district court granted the request and appointed another attorney as replacement guardian ad litem for the children. The court subsequently reconsidered and approved the settlement proposed by the mothers.
Westercamp applied for and received attorney fees in the amount $65,738 for his work from the date of his appointment to April 30, 2008. Westercamp later sought additional attorney fees and expenses of $85,000 plus from May 1, 2008, to May 8, 2009. The children’s mothers as well as their conservators objected to this request, and the district court awarded Westercamp $47,553.57.
The court noted that “the results obtained by Mr. Westercamp early on, and particularly resulting in the Court’s ruling on the ‘Slayer Statute’ in April of 2008, were very positive. The results obtained by Mr. Westercamp on other issues of significance were also positive and productive.”
The district court noted, however, that “essentially one-third of the time Mr. Westercamp itemized on his May 13, 2009, fee application was unnecessary, ill-advised or otherwise unproductive in connection with the representation of his clients in this case.”
The court continued: “The results obtained by Mr. Westercamp on several procedural, discovery and lawyer-relationship matters were less productive and, at times, counterproductive. Frequently, Mr. Westercamp’s position was overly technical and procedural.”
Westercamp took issue with those findings and contended the district court misapplied several factors for determining whether his requested attorney fees were reasonable.
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