Free Letter - District Court of Delaware - Delaware

Case 1:07-cv-00069-GMS

Document 19

Filed 06/01/2007

Page 1 of 2

FIRM and AFFILIATE OFFICES NEW YORK LONDON SINGAPORE LOS ANGELES CHICAGO

MATT NEIDERMAN DIRECT DIAL: 302-657-4920 E-MAIL: [email protected] www.duanemorris.com

HOUSTON PHILADELPHIA SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO BALTIMORE BOSTON WASHINGTON, DC LAS VEGAS ATLANTA MIAMI PITTSBURGH NEWARK WILMINGTON PRINCETON LAKE TAHOE VIETNAM

June 1, 2007 VIA ELECTRONIC FILING AND HAND DELIVERY The Honorable Gregory M. Sleet United States District Court - District of Delaware Room 4324, Lock Box 19 J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building 844 North King Street Wilmington, DE 19801 Re:

Northern Michigan Hospitals, Inc., et al. v. Health Net Federal Services, LLC, C.A. No. 07-39 ("Health Net action"); Lakewood Health System, et al. v. TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp., C.A. No. 07-69 ("TriWest action")________________________________________

Dear Judge Sleet: We write in connection with the above referenced class actions. As Your Honor may be aware, the complaints in these actions were filed on January 23, 2007 (Health Net action) and February 7, 2007 (TriWest action). The defendants in each action have filed a motion to dismiss, which motions have been fully briefed. Since filing their complaints, the plaintiffs in each action have been unsuccessful in their attempts to engage the defendants in the conference required under F.R.C.P. 26(f). By refusing to so participate, defendants have effectively imposed an informal stay of discovery pending the resolution of their respective motions to dismiss. Although the Court has not yet scheduled the initial conference under L.R. 16(a) in either action, the Rule 26(f) conference is not dependent upon the occurrence of a Rule 16 conference, nor is it dependent upon the resolution of the pending motions to dismiss. Plaintiffs therefore respectfully request the Court's assistance in facilitating the Rule 26(f) conference in each action. We are available at the Court's convenience to discuss these issues.

D UANE M ORRIS LLP
1100 NORTH MARKET STREET, 12 TH FLOOR WILMINGTON, DE 19801 PHONE: 302.657.4900 FAX: 302.657.4901

Case 1:07-cv-00069-GMS

Document 19

Filed 06/01/2007

Page 2 of 2

The Honorable Gregory M. Sleet June 1, 2007 Page 2

Respectfully,

/s/ Matt Neiderman Matt Neiderman (I.D. No. 4018) cc: United States District Court Clerk (via Electronic Filing and Hand Delivery) Jennifer Gimler Brady, Esquire (via Electronic Filing and Hand Delivery) Katherine J. Neikerk, Esquire (via Electronic Filing and Hand Delivery) Christopher Flynn, Esquire (via email) Robert S. Ryland, Esquire (via email) John J. Soroko, Esquire (via email) Seth A. Goldberg, Esquire (via email) Michael R. Gottfried, Esquire (via email) Gregory A. Brodek, Esquire (via email)