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

Case 1:99-cv-00550-ECH

Document 277

Filed 10/26/2007

Page 1 of 3

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS ) ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ) ) THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) ) Defendant. ) __________________________________________) THE OSAGE TRIBE OF INDIANS OF OKLAHOMA,

Electronically Filed: October 26, 2007 No. 99-550L (into which has been consolidated No. 00-169L) Judge Emily C. Hewitt

DEFENDANT'S UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR ENLARGEMENT OF TIME TO FILE RESPONSE TO MOTION TO INTERVENE AND AMEND COMPLAINT AND BRIEF IN SUPPORT Pursuant to Rule 6.1 of the Rules of the Court of Federal Claims ("RCFC"), Defendant respectfully requests that the Court grant this unopposed motion for an enlargement of time, to and including December 3, 2007, within which to file a response to the recently filed Motion to Intervene and Amend Complaint and Brief in Support. This unopposed enlargement motion is Defendant's first such motion. The grounds for the unopposed motion are as follows: 1. On October 15, 2007, eight Osage tribal members and headright owners moved to

intervene in this matter. According to the docket, Defendant has to and including November 1, 2007, to file its response to the Motion to Intervene. 2. Defendant requests an extension of time, to and including December 3, 2007, in order

to file its response. Counsel for Defendant has been and continues to work diligently on drafting the response, including conferring about, coordinating, researching, analyzing, preparing, and evaluating its arguments with the relevant personnel of the United States Departments of the Interior and of the Treasury. Given the potential overlap with another case, Fletcher v. United States (Case No. 02-CF-

Case 1:99-cv-00550-ECH

Document 277

Filed 10/26/2007

Page 2 of 3

427) (N.D. Ok.), Defendant's counsel requires adequate time to appropriately complete coordination with assigned counsel for the government. 3. In addition to working on the response, Defendant's counsel has been and continues

to address and otherwise juggling other work and work-related travel demands of the 102 Tribal trust accounting and trust mismanagement cases that are currently pending in this Court, the United States District Courts in Oklahoma and the District of Columbia. This situation applies as well to the attorneys in the Solicitor's Office of the Interior Department and the Chief Counsel's Office of the Financial Management Service of the Treasury Department, who are assigned to work on the 102 Tribal trust cases and who are responsible for coordinating with Defendant's counsel on the response. 4. Pursuant to RCFC 6.1, undersigned Defendant's counsel contacted Plaintiff's counsel

James Tuite and Erik Pilsk about this motion by telephone on October 23, 2007. On October 24, 2007, Plaintiff's counsel informed Defendant's counsel by voicemail that Plaintiff does not oppose this motion. Defendant's counsel also contacted proposed Intervenors' counsel, Bradley D. Brickell about this motion by telephone and discussed the motion on October 24; proposed Intervenors, likewise, do not oppose this motion. In the event Plaintiff or proposed Intervenors require additional time for their respective response or reply to the Motion to Intervene, Defendant will not oppose any such motion. 5. The granting of this unopposed motion will not cause any undue prejudice or harm

to the rights and interests of the parties herein. 6. Additionally, the granting of the motion will promote judicial efficiency and serve

the public interest by enabling Defendant to submit a well reviewed response to the Court. Denial -2-

Case 1:99-cv-00550-ECH

Document 277

Filed 10/26/2007

Page 3 of 3

of the unopposed motion will cause prejudice and harm to Defendant's position, in that Defendant will not have sufficient time to complete its preparation of the response and undertake a full and thorough review of the response with the client agencies before filing. WHEREFORE, Defendant requests that their unopposed motion be GRANTED. Respectfully submitted this 26th day of October, 2007, RONALD J. TENPAS Acting Assistant Attorney General /s/ Maureen E. Rudolph MAUREEN E. RUDOLPH SD Bar #3176 ANTHONY P. HOANG, FL Bar #798193 KEVIN REGAN, OR Bar #044825 United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division P.O. Box 663 Washington, D.C. 20044-0663 Tel: (202) 305-0241 Tel: (202) 305-0247 Fax: (202) 353-2021 Attorneys for Defendant OF COUNSEL: CANDACE BECK HOLLY CLEMENT United States Department of the Interior Office of the Solicitor Washington, D.C. 20240 TERESA E. DAWSON United States Department of the Treasury Financial Management Service Office of the Chief Counsel Washington, D.C. 20227

-3-