Cite as: 540 U. S. 526 (2004)
Opinion of the Court
person, or attorney") and so casts some doubt on the proper presence of "attorney." That the pre-1994 text had no grammatical error and was parallel in its structure strengthens the sense that error exists in the new text.
The Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits, when asked to interpret current § 330(a)(1), concluded that its language was plain irrespective of these quirks and history. Under the statutory language as written, those courts held, fees may be awarded to attorneys for services rendered only to the extent they are payments to "a professional person employed under section 327," see, e. g., § 327(a) (authorizing an appointed trustee in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy action to "employ one or more attorneys . . . to represent or assist the trustee in carrying out the trustee's duties under this title"); § 327(e) (authorizing an appointed trustee in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy action to "employ, for a specified special purpose, other than to represent the trustee in conducting the case, an attorney that has represented the debtor, . . ."). See In re Pro-Snax Distributors, Inc., 157 F. 3d 414 (CA5 1998); In re American Steel Product, Inc., 197 F. 3d 1354 (CA11 1999). The Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, and Ninth Circuits, in contrast, concluded that the text's apparent errors rendered the section ambiguous, requiring consideration of the provision's legislative history. That history, those courts held, shows Congress intended § 330(a)(1) to continue to allow compensation of Chapter 7 debtors' attorneys, irrespective of qualification under § 327. In re Ames Dept. Stores, Inc., 76 F. 3d 66 (CA2 1996); In re Top Grade Sausage, Inc., 227 F. 3d 123 (CA3 2000); In re Century Cleaning Services, Inc., 195 F. 3d 1053 (CA9 1999). See also 3 Collier on Bankruptcy, supra, ¶ 330.LH[5], at 330-75 to 330-76.
This interpretive divide became relevant to petitioner in his representation of Equipment Services, Inc. (ESI). ESI retained petitioner to prepare, file, and prosecute a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding on its behalf. He did so, all the
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