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

Case 1:07-cv-00823-EJD

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Filed 01/22/2008

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS ______________________________________ ) HITT CONSTRUCTION, INC., ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) 07-823 C ) (Chief Judge Damich) THE UNITED STATES, ) ) Defendant. ) ______________________________________ ) DEFENDANT'S UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR AN ENLARGEMENT OF TIME Defendant respectfully requests an enlargement of time of 28 days, to and including February 22, 2008, within which to file its response to plaintiff's complaint. Defendant's response is now due to be filed on January 25, 2008. This is defendant's first request for an enlargement of time for this purpose. Defendant has contacted plaintiff's counsel, who has indicated that plaintiff does not oppose this request. Defendant has sent to the Architect of the Capitol ("AOC") a copy of the complaint with a request for a litigation report and suggested response to the complaint, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 520.1 Additional time is needed for the AOC to gather and review any information necessary for preparation of the AOC's litigation report and suggested response to the complaint. Once the information gathering process is complete, the AOC will require time to prepare the requested

Section 520 provides that, "[i]n suits against the United States in the United States Court of Federal Claims . . . founded on a contract, agreement, or transaction with an executive department . . . the Attorney General shall send to the department . . . a printed copy of the petition filed by the claimant, with a request that the department . . . furnish to the Attorney General all facts, circumstances, and evidence concerning the claim in the possession or knowledge of the department," and that, "[w]ithin a reasonable time after receipt of the request of the Attorney General, the executive department . . . shall furnish the Attorney General with a written statement of all facts, information, and proofs." 28 U.S.C. § 520.

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Case 1:07-cv-00823-EJD

Document 9

Filed 01/22/2008

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litigation report and suggested response to the complaint, and to deliver to defendant's counsel the litigation report and suggested response to the complaint. Once the litigation report is received, defendant's counsel will need sufficient time to review the litigation report and suggested response to the complaint, obtain any additional information or clarification from the AOC, and prepare and file the Government's response to the complaint, following mandatory supervisory review. Further, a preliminary review of this matter indicates that plaintiff seeks review of a board of contracts appeals' decision pursuant to the Wunderlich Act. Complaint ¶ 3. The parties have conferred, and will continue to confer, concerning appropriate proposed procedures for handling this matter. An enlargement of time of 28 days should allow the parties sufficient time to reach agreement concerning proposed procedures. For these reasons, defendant respectfully requests that the Court grant its unopposed motion for a 28-day enlargement of time within which to file its response to plaintiff's complaint. Respectfully submitted, JEFFREY S. BUCHOLTZ Acting Assistant Attorney General JEANNE E. DAVIDSON Director s/ Mark A. Melnick MARK A. MELNICK Assistant Director

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Case 1:07-cv-00823-EJD

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Filed 01/22/2008

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s/ Sean B. McNamara SEAN B. McNAMARA Trial Attorney Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division Department of Justice Attn: Classification Unit 8th Floor 1100 L Street Washington, D.C. 20530 Tel: (202) 305-7573 Fax: (202) 514-8624 January 22, 2008 Attorneys for Defendant

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Case 1:07-cv-00823-EJD

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Filed 01/22/2008

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CERTIFICATE OF FILING I hereby certify that on this 22nd day of January, 2008, a copy of the foregoing "DEFENDANT'S UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR AN ENLARGEMENT OF TIME" 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. The parties may access this filing through the Court's system.

s/ Sean B. McNamara