Free Motion for Leave to File - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:05-cv-00912-LMB

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS AEC SERVICES, INC., Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 05-912C (Judge Baskir)

DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE A MOTION FOR AN ENLARGEMENT OF TIME In accordance with the Court's September 16, 2005 Special Procedures Order, defendant, the United States, respectfully requests leave of the Court to file a motion for an enlargement of time to respond to the plaintiff's complaint. Our response is currently due on February 6, 2006. Pursuant to paragraph 7 of the Court's order, "[e]nlargements which are unavoidably filed close to . . . the due date must seek leave of Court and must state explicitly the unusual circumstances necessitating the late motion and the requested enlargement." As our attached motion for enlargement explains, former counsel for record for the United States, Mr. Moran, resigned from the Department of Justice. At the time, Mr. Moran was engaged in settlement discussions with counsel for the plaintiff. Current counsel of record was assigned to this case on January 25, 2006, and immediately filed a Notice of

Case 1:05-cv-00912-LMB

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Filed 02/03/2006

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Appearance and began working to familiarize herself with the case. Aware of the Court's February 6, 2006 deadline, counsel for the defendant discussed the possibility of continuing settlement negotiations with counsel for the plaintiff on January 30, 2006. After independently evaluating the parties' settlement options, counsel for the defendant contacted counsel for the plaintiff on January 31, 2006 to discuss filing either a joint motion for a stay of proceedings or a motion for an enlargement of time to allow the parties to continue negotiating. On February 2, 2006, counsel for the defendant again contacted counsel for the plaintiff, but has received no response. For the foregoing reasons, we respectfully request that the Court permit the filing of defendant's motion for an enlargement of time. Respectfully submitted, PETER D. KEISLER Assistant Attorney General DAVID M. COHEN Director s/James M. Kinsella JAMES M. KINSELLA Deputy Director

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Of counsel: MARK LaFEIR General Services Administration

s/Allison Kidd-Miller ALLISON KIDD-MILLER Trial Attorney Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division Department of Justice Attn: Classification Unit 8th Floor 1100 L Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530 Tele: (202) 307-1011 Fax: (202) 307-0972 Attorneys for Defendant

February 3, 2006

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Case 1:05-cv-00912-LMB

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I certify under penalty of perjury that on this 3rd day of February, 2006, a copy of the foregoing "DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE A 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. Parties may access this filing through the Court's system.

/s Allison Kidd-Miller