Avenatti Firm’s Bankruptcy Trustee Dodges Criminal Case Subpoenas

Federal prosecutors and defenders in Michael Avenatti’s now-concluded criminal proceedings had to ask for bankruptcy court permission before issuing subpoenas to the Chapter 7 trustee for the attorney’s former law firm, a bankruptcy judge ruled.

Richard Marshack, the trustee for Eagan Avenatti LLP, received subpoenas demanding that he appear at Avenatti’s criminal trial and produce data from the law firm, according to the decision issued Thursday.

Subpoenas from other courts that require a trustee to use bankruptcy estate resources don’t “usurp the power and authority” of the bankruptcy court, Judge Scott Clarkson of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central ...