Free Response - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:98-cv-00168-FMA

Document 222-7

Filed 10/01/2004

Page 1 of 3

IN THE UNITED STATES COURTOF FEDERAL CLAIMS NORTHSTAR ALASKAHOUSING CORP., Plaintiff, v. THE LrNI~D STATES, Defendant. )

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No. 98-168C (Judge Allegra)

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DECLARATION OF HAROLDD. HOPSON I, HaroldD. Hopson, the Chief of the Real Estate Divisionat the AlaskaDistrict of am the U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers, 2204 3ra Street, ElmendorfAir Force Base, Alaska, 99506. I have personal knowledgeof the facts herein, and I prepared this declaration to documentmy recollections of the events pertinent to Plaintiff's Requestsfor Production10 and 11. 2. North Star's Supplemental 10 requests "any and all documents RFP received by and/or

relied uponby Harold Hopson the preparation of the January 28, 2002letter to EldonWarteswith in respect to Government policies with regard to administration of the lease." 3. NorthStar's Supplemental 11 requests "any and all documents, RFP including but not

limited to phone logs, calendars, and memoranda, reflecting communicationsamongGovernment personnel with respect to the January 28, 2002letter from Harold Hopson Eldon Wartes." to 4. The Court's Order of June 3, 2002 states "[p]laintiff mayonly pursue discovery

related to the amendments its complaint allowed by the Court's order of March26, 2002. to Specifically, plaintiff may explore two issues: 1) defendant's alleged "stockpiling" of units in the period from November 2001 through February 2002 and continuing..." 5. The instructions to North Star's June 7, 2002 SupplementalInterrogatories and -1-

Case 1:98-cv-00168-FMA

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Filed 10/01/2004

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Requests for Productionstate that "[t]he term stockpiling refers to the Government's practice of holdingon to vacant units and then releasing themsimultaneouslyto NorthStar for the performance of between-occupancymaintenance." 6. I signed the January28, 2002letter referenced by NorthStar after it wasdrafted by was addressed to Richard

Mr. Scott Marchand,whowas Corps counsel at the time. The letter

Fisher, not to EldonWartes, as stated in NorthStar's Requestsfor Production10 and 11. Theletter wasdrafted after a teleconference held on or about January 16, 2002betweenDOJattorney Donald Kinner, Corps and U.S. ArmyAlaska (USARAK) housing personnel. Theteleconferencewasheldto discuss the Government's response to the Court's denial of summary judgmentregarding the May 26, 2000 settlement agreement. It was agreed at the meeting that the Government wouldacknowledge that the settlement agreement beenrescinded. I do not recall taking notes at this meeting.I do had not recall any of the other participants taking notes. Themeetingwasnot recorded and no formal minutes were kept. 7. Theletter wasdrafted by Mr. Marchand transmitted by email to several Corpsand and

USARAK personnel for comment. believe the only changemadeto the draft letter wasto add in the I first paragraphlanguageto the effect that the Government agreedto withdraw participation in the its settlement agreementand pursue in litigation the matters set forth in the amended complaintin the case. I believe this was added so that the letter could be used to notify the Court of the Government's decision on howto proceedwith respect to the settlement. I did not retain a draft of the letter after the final versionwassigned. 8. TheJanuary 28, 2002letter wasprepared by Scott Marchand based on the discussion

at the teleconference. There was very limited email correspondenceregarding rescission of the -2-

Case 1:98-cv-00168-FMA

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Filed 10/01/2004

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settlement agreement,and none of it referred to "stockpiling" as defined in NorthStar's discovery requests or to the proceduresfor issuing vacant units to NorthStar for the performance betweenof occupancymaintenance.I did not receive or rely on any documents pertaining to "stockpiling" of units in reviewing or signing the January 28, 2002 letter to North Star. I amunawareof any documents related in any wayto this letter that address"stockpiling" of units, as that termis defined by North Star in the instructions to its June 7, 2002Supplemental Interrogatories and Requestsfor Production of Documents. t~ I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoingis true and correct. Executed this 30 day of September, 2004.

Harold D. Hopson Chief, Real Estate Division U.S. Army Corpsof Engineers, Alaska District 2204 34 Street Elmendorf AFB, AK99506 September 30, 2004

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