Free Motion for Extension of Time to File Answer - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:03-cv-00538-GWM

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Filed 05/02/2003

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS ATOFINA Petrochemicals, Inc., Plaintiff, v. THE UNITED STATES, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 03-538 C (Judge Bush)

DEFENDANT'S UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR ENLARGEMENT OF TIME Pursuant to RCFC 6(b), defendant respectfully requests an enlargement of time of fifteen days, from May 6, 2003, to and including May 21, 2003, within which to respond to the complaint. This is our first such request. Plaintiff does not oppose this request. We request this time because we intend to respond to the complaint by motion for summary judgment. This is one of approximately 19 cases now pending before this Court. In all such cases, the parties have filed, or are in the midst of filing, cross-motions for summary judgment. We need additional time to complete the brief, prepare it and its appendix for filing in electronic form, and for supervisory review. Although we have prepared a draft of the brief, defendant's counsel will be on official travel next week in San Diego, participating in a mediation in Cui v. United States, No. 00-339C (Fed. Cl.). That case involves approximately 40 affected persons and determining who should participate in the mediation, agreeing upon a mediator, and finding mutually-available dates was difficult and resulted in scheduling since the complaint was filed, and upon fairly short notice. Between his return and May 20, defendant's counsel is scheduled to prepare for and participate in oral arguments in Hermes v. United States, No. 02-1460C (Fed. Cl.), and Tesoro v. United States, No. 02-704C (Fed. Cl.), and to deliver a lecture at the Justice Department's National

Case 1:03-cv-00538-GWM

Document 4

Filed 05/02/2003

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Advocacy Training Center in South Carolina. Since the complaint was filed, defendant's counsel was required to perform two weeks of active military duty, and to devote a significant portion of his time to other matters pending in this Court. These matters include: filing briefs in Hermes v. United States, No. 02-1460C (Fed. Cl.), Exxon v. United States, No. 02-1217C (Fed. Cl.), Berry v. United States, No. 02-1462C (Fed. Cl.), Sinclair v. United States, No. 02-1464C (Fed. Cl.), LaGloria v. United States, No. 02465C (Fed. Cl.), Calcasieu v. United States, No. 02-1219C (Fed. Cl.), Sunoco v. United States, No. 02-466C (Fed. Cl.), Navajo v. United States DJ No. 154-02-1220, Flint Hills v. United States, No. 02-462C (Fed. Cl.), Conoco v. United States, No. 02-1367C (Fed. Cl.), and Giant v. United States, No. 03-291C (Fed. Cl.); and participating in hearings in Flint Hills v. United States, No. 02-462C (Fed. Cl.), Marathon v. United States, No. 02-1218C (Fed. Cl.), and Christofferson v. United States, No. 01-495C (Fed. Cl.). For these reasons, defendant respectfully requests an enlargement of time of fifteen days, from May 6, 2003, to and including May 21, 2003, within which to respond to the complaint. Respectfully submitted, ROBERT D. McCALLUM, JR. Assistant Attorney General

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Case 1:03-cv-00538-GWM

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Filed 05/02/2003

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DAVID M. COHEN Director s/ Steven J. Gillingham STEVEN J. GILLINGHAM Senior Trial Counsel KYLE CHADWICK Trial Attorney Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division Department of Justice Attn: Classification Unit 1100 L Street, 8th Floor Washington, D.C. 20530 Tele: (202) 616-2311 Fax: (202) 353-7988 Attorneys for Defendant

OF COUNSEL: BERNARD A. DUVAL Counsel DONALD S. TRACY Assistant Counsel Office of General Counsel Defense Energy Support Center Ft. Belvoir, VA

May 2, 2003

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Case 1:03-cv-00538-GWM

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CERTIFICATE OF FILING I hereby certify that on May 2, 2003, a copy of the foregoing document was filed electronically. I understand that notice of this filing will be sent to all parties by operation of the Court's electronic filing system. Parties may access this filing through the Court's system. s/ Steven J. Gillingham