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

Case 1:98-cv-00154-JFM

Document 334

Filed 11/01/2004

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS YANKEE ATOMIC ELECTRIC COMPANY, Plaintiff, v. THE UNITED STATES, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 98-126C (Senior Judge Merow)

DEFENDANT'S UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR AN ENLARGEMENT OF TIME1 Pursuant to Rule 6(b) of the Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims ("RCFC"), defendant, the United States, respectfully requests an enlargement of time of two business days, to and including November 8, 2004, within which the parties may file their initial post-trial briefs and proposed findings of fact with the Court. Pursuant to this Court's orders dated September 21 and October 12, 2004, the parties' submissions are currently due to be filed on November 4, 2004. Although the submissions were originally due to be filed on October 15, 2004, the parties mutually agreed to an enlargement to November 4, 2004, and the Court adopted the parties' request by order dated October 12, 2004. Counsel for plaintiff has represented that the plaintiffs, Yankee Atomic Electric Company, Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company, and Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company (collectively, "the Yankees"), do not oppose this motion. The parties anticipate that this short enlargement should not affect their ability to file their response and reply briefs on their currently scheduled due dates of December 2 and 22, 2004, respectively.

The Government requests that this motion also be deemed applicable in Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Co. v. United States, No. 98-154C, and Maine Yankee Atomic Power Co. v. United States, No. 98-474C.

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Case 1:98-cv-00154-JFM

Document 334

Filed 11/01/2004

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When the parties previously identified November 4, 2004, as the due date for their initial post-trial briefs and proposed findings of fact, counsel for the Government believed that the Government could complete its briefing and file it with the Court by that date. However, counsel was unaware of an issue that significantly affects the Government's ability to file its briefing on that date. As the Court is aware, all substantive pleadings that are filed with the Court must be reviewed by counsel's supervisor within the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Civil Division in the Department of Justice. We only recently became aware that counsel's supervisor, who has been out of the office since the close of business on October 25, 2004, is not scheduled to return to the office until Wednesday, November 3, 2004. Further, because the supervisor has an oral argument at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on November 4, 2004, he will be unable to begin his review of the filings in this case until, at the earliest, the afternoon of November 4, 2004, although other work-related matters could impede his review time. Further, the anticipated briefing is rather substantial and will require significant review time. Because of the significance of the issues in this case, the amount of damages that the plaintiffs are seeking, and the sheer length of the proposed briefing, it is essential that we have adequate time to obtain a thorough review of the Government's proposed filings and to make any revisions or perform any additional work that is deemed necessary. To provide this time, we respectfully request that the Court grant us, as well as the plaintiffs, an additional two business days (which will also allow us to make any necessary revisions during the weekend of November 5, 2004) within with the initial post-trial briefs and proposed findings of fact identified in the Court's September 21, 2004 order.

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Case 1:98-cv-00154-JFM

Document 334

Filed 11/01/2004

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For the foregoing reasons, we respectfully request that the Court grant this request for an enlargement of time. Respectfully submitted, PETER D. KEISLER Assistant Attorney General s/ David M. Cohen DAVID M. COHEN Director s/ Harold D. Lester, Jr. HAROLD D. LESTER, JR. Assistant Director Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division Department of Justice Attn: Classification Unit 8th Floor Washington, D.C. 20530 Tele: (202) 305-7562 Fax: (202) 307-2503 November 1, 2004 Attorneys for Defendant

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Case 1:98-cv-00154-JFM

Document 334

Filed 11/01/2004

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CERTIFICATE OF FILING I hereby certify that on this 1st day of November, 2004, a copy of foregoing "DEFENDANT'S UNOPPOSED 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/Harold D. Lester, Jr.