By Karol Denniston, Squire Patton Boggs LLP (December 1, 2016, 5:19 PM EST) -- Recently, in Caesars Entertainment Operating Co., U.S. Bankruptcy Judge A. Benjamin Goldgar of the Northern District of Illinois denied payment of indenture trustee Wilmington Trust's attorneys' fees and costs in connection with the debtors' motion to approve a settlement. The U.S. trustee objected to payment arguing that the debtor could not rely on 11 U.S.C. § 363 (seeking settlement approval) as authority to pay Wilmington Trust's fees and costs. Sustaining the U.S. trustee's objection, the court found that as a matter of statutory interpretation, indenture trustee legal fees for unsecured notes could not be paid under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code. Judge Goldgar made it clear that while payment under Section 363 was not available, his ruling did not address whether the indenture trustee fees could be paid under Section 503(b) of the Bankruptcy Code or under a plan of reorganization.[1]...