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

Case 1:07-cv-00337-LJB

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Filed 07/24/2007

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS CCS INDUSTRIAL SALES, INC., Plaintiff, v. THE UNITED STATES, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 07-337C (Judge Bush)

DEFENDANT'S FIRST MOTION FOR AN ENLARGEMENT OF TIME Defendant respectfully requests an enlargement of time of 60 days, to and including September 28, 2007, within which to file its response to plaintiff's complaint. Defendant's response is now due to be filed on July 30, 2007. This is defendant's first request for an enlargement of time for this purpose. Plaintiff's counsel opposes this request and will file an opposition to it. Defendant has sent to the Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA") a copy of the complaint, along with a request for a litigation report and suggested response to the complaint, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 520.1 The claims in this case involve post-Hurricane Katrina cleanup at the former VA hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana, and, according to the complaint, involve some oral orders for which the VA may not possess documents. Gathering the necessary information and filing a response by July 30, 2007, is even further complicated by the fact that

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-00337-LJB

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there is no contracting officer's decision and the deemed denial involves invoices submitted by plaintiff and other contractors that are also the subject of an audit by the VA Inspector General's Office ("IG") which has not been completed. Moreover, plaintiff has recently submitted supporting documentation to the IG on both July 6 and July 18, 2007. There are approximately five boxes of documents that the IG needs to review as part of the audit process. Additional time is needed for the VA to gather any additional materials and review any information necessary for preparation of the VA's 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 VA, and prepare and file the Government's response to the complaint. Additionally, lead Government counsel has answers due in the following other cases: (1) Hillian Bros., Inc. v, United States, No. 07-326C (Fed. Cl.) on July 30, 2007; (2) Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. v. United States, No. 07-218C (Fed. Cl.) on August 16, 2007; (3) Pennsauken Senior Towers Urban Renewal Assoc., LLC v. United States, No. 07-174C (Fed. Cl.) on August 21, 2007; and (4) Securitas Gmbh Werkschutz v. United States, Nos. 07-255C/256C/257C (Fed. Cl.) (three cases requiring three separate answers) on August 24, 2007. In addition to the aforementioned cases, this Court directed that the Government treat the case of TMI Mgmt. Systems, Inc. v. United States, 07-407 (Fed. Cl.), on an expedited schedule, akin to a bid protest case, and file its brief by August 31, 2007.

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For these reasons, defendant respectfully requests that the Court grant its first motion for a 60-day enlargement of time within which to file its response to plaintiff's complaint. Respectfully submitted, PETER D. KEISLER Assistant Attorney General JEANNE E. DAVIDSON Director /s Steven J. Gillingham STEVEN J. GILLINGHAM Assistant Director /s Armando A. Rodriguez-Feo ARMANDO A. RODRIGUEZ-FEO Trial Attorney Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division Department of Justice Attn: Classification Unit 8th Floor 1100 L St., NW Washington, D.C. 20530 Tele: (202) 307-3390 Fax: (202) 514-8624 July 24, 2007 Attorneys for Defendant

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CERTIFICATE OF FILING I hereby certify that on this 24th day of July, 2007, a copy of the foregoing "DEFENDANT'S FIRST 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/ Armando A. Rodriguez-Feo