Free Joint Preliminary Status Report - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:07-cv-00321-CCM

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Filed 09/13/2007

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS

TRAVELERS CASUALTY AND SURETY COMPANY OF AMERICA,

) ) ) Plaintiff, ) v. ) ) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) ) Defendant, ) ____________________________________)

Case No. 07-321C Honorable Christine O.C. Miller

JOINT PRELIMINARY STATUS REPORT Pursuant to Rule 16 and Appendix A of the Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims ("RCFC"), the parties hereby submit this joint preliminary status report. a. Does the Court have jurisdiction over this action?

Plaintiff states that the Court possesses jurisdiction to consider and decide this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1491 and 41 U.S.C. § 601. At this time, defendant is not aware of any reason to challenge the Court's jurisdiction to entertain plaintiff's complaint. b. Should this case be consolidated with any other case?

The parties agree that this case should not be consolidated with any other case. c. Should trial of liability and damages be bifurcated?

The parties agree that the trial of liability and damages should not be bifurcated. d. Should further proceedings be deferred pending consideration of another case before this Court or any other tribunal and the reasons therefore?

The parties agree that further proceedings in this case should not be deferred pending consideration of another case before this Court or any other tribunal.

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e.

Will a remand or suspension be sought?

Neither of the parties will seek remand or suspension. f. Will additional parties be joined?

The parties agree that they will not join any additional parties. g. Does either party intend to file a dispositive motion pursuant to Rule 12(b), 12(c), or 56? And, if so, a schedule for the intended filing?

After discovery has been completed, the parties will be in a better position to determine whether the filing of dispositive motions for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 is appropriate in this case. h. 1. What are the relevant issues? Whether defendant asserted valid defect claims in claiming a setoff of

$190,152.00 against the contract balances of plaintiff's principal; 2. 3. Whether the defect claims have been released by agreement. Whether the plaintiff is entitled to damages and, if so, to what amount of damages

is plaintiff entitled. i. What is the likelihood of settlement?

At this time, settlement of this lawsuit does not appear likely. The parties, however, will explore settlement options and possibly mediation after limited discovery is completed. j. Do the parties anticipate proceeding to trial?

If the parties are unable to resolve the matter through dispositive motions or through settlement and a trial is necessary to fully decide this case, the parties propose that the trial be held four to six months after the Court shall have ruled upon such motions. At this time, the parties anticipate that a trial would last approximately one week. The parties do not request expedited trial scheduling. The parties request that the trial be conducted in San Francisco, CA.

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k.

Are there special issues regarding electronic case management needs?

The parties have no special issues regarding electronic case management needs. l. Is there other information of which the Court should be aware at this time?

There is no other information of which the Court should be aware at this time. m. What is the proposed discovery plan?

The parties intend to conduct simultaneous discovery through interrogatories, requests for admission, requests for production of documents, and/or depositions. The parties propose the following discovery schedule: Exchange of Initial Disclosures Close of Fact Discovery Expert Reports Exchanged Expert Rebuttal Reports Exchanged Deadline for Expert Depositions November 15, 2008 June 30, 2008 August 31, 2008 September 30, 2008 October 31, 2008

Respectfully submitted,

PETER D. KEISLER Assistant Attorney General JEANNE E. DAVIDSON Director

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s/ Joseph McGowan Joseph McGowan, Esq. WATT, TIEDER, HOFFAR & FITZGERALD, L.L.P. Citigroup Center One Sansome Street, Suite 1050 San Francisco, CA 94104 (415) 623-7000 (Telephone) (415) 623-7001 (Facsimile) Attorney for Plaintiff Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America

s/ Donald E. Kinner DONALD E. KINNER Assistant Director

s/ David M. Hibey DAVID M. HIBEY Trial Attorney Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division Department of Justice 1100 L Street, N.W. Attn: Classification Unit 8th Floor Washington, D.C. 20530 Tel: (202) 307-0163 Fax: (202) 514-8624 Attorneys for Defendant

DATED: September 13, 2007

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CERTIFICATE OF FILING I hereby certify that on this 13th day of September, 2007, a copy of the foregoing "Joint Preliminary Status Report" 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/ David M. Hibey

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