Free Motion for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:07-cv-00250-CCM

Document 13

Filed 08/24/2007

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS

PAUL D. RIPPA, Plaintiff, v. THE UNITED STATES, Defendant

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No. 07-250C (Judge Christine O.C. Miller)

DEFENDANT'S UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR AN ENLARGEMENT OF TIME TO FILE ITS REPLY BRIEF AND FOR PLAINTIFF TO FILE A SURREPLY Pursuant to Rules 6(b) and 6.1 of the Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims ("RCFC"), defendant, the United States, respectfully requests an enlargement of time to file its reply to plaintiff's response to defendant's motion to dismiss, to and including September 14, 2007. Counsel for plaintiff represents that he does not oppose this motion, but requests an additional three weeks after that time, to and including October 5, 2007 to file a surreply to defendant's reply. Defendant does not oppose plaintiff's request to file a surreply in this matter. The enlargement is requested because a legal issue has come to defendant's attention in this matter such that defendant requires additional time to consider before filing its reply. Specifically, defendant requires additional time to determine the position of the relevant agency, the Department of the Interior, on certain matters that touch on this Court's jurisdiction in this case. Counsel for the defendant and for the agency have been unable to resolve this matter in the time to reply. Defendant apologizes for filing this motion on the day its reply was due, but it cannot formulate its response without this further information from the agency. Defendant also apologizes for not being able to address this issue in the customary 14

Case 1:07-cv-00250-CCM

Document 13

Filed 08/24/2007

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day reply period. However, the complexity of the issue which had come to its attention, and the necessity of determining the agency's position prevented a quick resolution. Furthermore, defendant filed its motion to dismiss on August 8, 2007, and plaintiff filed his response on August 10, 2007. Due to plaintiff's unexpectedly quick response time, counsel for defendant had not scheduled time to address the issue, particularly because she filed a reply brief in the bid protest Ironclad-EEI v. United States, Fed. Cl. No. 07-212C, on August 13, 2007, and conducted oral argument in the same case on August 18, 2007. The reason that defendant requires a three week extension is because counsel of record will be on annual leave and out of the country from August 27, 2007 through September 3, 2007, and her supervisor will be on annual leave from September 3, 2007 through September 7, 2007. Based upon the complexity of the issues, the need to further consult with the Department of the Interior, additional research needed to draft and finalize the brief, and obtain mandatory supervisory review, the Department of Justice requires three additional weeks to filing its response brief. Because defendant's brief may an issue not explicitly addressed in its motion to dismiss, plaintiff's counsel has requested an additional three weeks to draft a surreply on this issue. Accordingly, defendant requests the Court allow plaintiff three weeks, to and including October 5, 2007 to file a surreply to defendant's reply For the foregoing reasons, defendant respectfully requests that the Court grant its motion for an enlargement of time, to and including September 14, 2007, within which to file a reply to plaintiff's response to defendant's motion to dismiss, and allow plaintiff to file a surreply in this matter as plaintiff on or before October 5, 2007.

Case 1:07-cv-00250-CCM

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Filed 08/24/2007

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Respectfully submitted,

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

/s/ Mark A. Melnick MARK A. MELNICK Assistant Director /s/ Carrie A. Dunsmore CARRIE A. DUNSMORE Trial Attorney Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division Department of Justice Attn: Classification Unit 1100 L Street, N.W., 8th Floor Washington, D.C. 20530 Tel: (202) 305-7576 Fax: (202) 514-8624 August 24, 2007 Attorneys for Defendant

Case 1:07-cv-00250-CCM

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Filed 08/24/2007

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Certificate of Filing I hereby certify that on this 24th day of August, 2007, a copy of "Defendant's Motion For An Enlargement Of Time To File Its Reply" 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/Carrie A. Dunsmore Carrie A. Dunsmore