Free Motion for Extension of Time to Complete Discovery - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:05-cv-00840-MMS

Document 77

Filed 11/28/2007

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) ) UNITED STATES ) ) Defendant, ) ) and ) ) WEEKS MARINE, INC., ) ) Intervenor-Defendant.) FISHERMAN'S HARVEST, INC., et al.,

No. 05-0840 C and No. 05-1044C (CONSOLIDATED) (Chief Judge Damich)

DEFENDANT'S UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR ENLARGEMENT OF THE DISCOVERY PERIOD Pursuant to Rule 6 of the Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims, defendant, the United States respectfully requests that the Court enlarge all discovery deadlines in this case. The current deadline for fact discovery is November 28, 2007, and expert discovery closes on February 28, 2008. This is our second request for enlargement for this purpose. The Court previously granted a 120-day enlargement. Defendant respectfully requests that each of these deadlines be extended according to the following schedule: Fact Discovery ends Joint Status Report Plaintiffs' Expert Witness Disclosure by Defendant's/Weeks Marine's Expert Witness Disclosure by Plaintiffs' Experts Available for Deposition by January 25, 2008 February 15, 2008 February 8, 2008 March 7, 2008 March 15, 2008

Case 1:05-cv-00840-MMS

Document 77

Filed 11/28/2007

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Defendant's/Weeks Marine's Experts Available for Deposition by March 31, 2008 Expert Discovery closes March 31, 2008.

The requested enlargement is necessary due to the large number of fact witnesses whom plaintiffs intend to call at trial, and the difficulty of coordinating the schedules of five attorneys of record with the schedules of the witnesses. Additionally, the undersigned attorney of record for the United States was unavailable to travel to Texas for depositions in this action during the period of time surrounding the birth of his daughter on August 29, 2007. Counsel for plaintiffs and intervenor-defendant have indicated that they do not oppose this motion. To date, the parties have exchanged written discovery and have produced over 43,000 pages of documents. The parties have also been diligent in conducting depositions. Thus far, 16 fact witnesses have been deposed, and three more depositions have already been scheduled for December. Moreover, many of the remaining witnesses reside outside the Houston, Texas, area, and will require travel by all counsel. For the reasons stated above, defendant respectfully requests that this Court enlarge all discovery deadlines pursuant to the above schedule. Respectfully submitted, JEFFREY S. BUCHOLTZ Acting Assistant Attorney General JEANNE E. DAVIDSON Director

s/ Patricia M. McCarthy PATRICIA M. McCARTHY Assistant Director

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Case 1:05-cv-00840-MMS

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s/ David D'Alessandris DAVID D'ALESSANDRIS U.S. Department of Justice Civil Div. Commercial Litigation Br. 1100 L. Street, NW 8th Floor Washington, DC 20530 November 28, 2007 Attorneys for the United States

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Case 1:05-cv-00840-MMS

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Filed 11/28/2007

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CERTIFICATE OF FILING I hereby certify that on November 28, 2007, a copy of the forgoing "DEFENDANT'S MOTION UNOPPOSED FOR ENLARGEMENT OF THE DISCOVERY PERIOD" 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 D'Alessandris