Free Status Report - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:98-cv-00484-JPW

Document 223

Filed 10/28/2004

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

NORTHERN STATES POWER COMPANY, Plaintiff, v. THE UNITED STATES, Defendant.

No. 98-484C (Senior Judge Wiese)

PLAINTIFF'S STATUS REPORT AND PROPOSED PRE-TRIAL SCHEDULE Plaintiff Northern States Power Company ("NSP") respectfully submits this status report proposing a pre-trial schedule "for the completion of all activities necessary to the full and complete exposition of the issues in this case," in response to the Court's September 28, 2004 Order. Counsel for the parties have conferred but were unable to agree on a mutually acceptable schedule. Accordingly, Plaintiff NSP herein advises the Court of its proposed schedule for further proceedings in this case, as detailed below and (with one minor revision) as previously submitted to counsel for the Government: November 1, 2004 November 2, 2004 Commencement of damages discovery NSP submits initial damages "claim" letter to the Government, to include an order-of-magnitude representation of costs that NSP has incurred and expects to incur as a result of DOE's non-performance NSP's expert reports due Government's expert reports due Close of damages discovery Filing of motions in limine, if any

May 1, 2005 July 15, 2005 September 30, 2005 October 11, 2005

Case 1:98-cv-00484-JPW

Document 223

Filed 10/28/2004

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October 14, 2005 November 1, 2005

Pre-trial conference Trial of approximately three weeks

From his discussions with counsel for the Government, counsel for Plaintiff NSP understands that the Government's position is that it cannot agree to any pre-trial schedule until it has had the opportunity to review the "claim" letter referenced above. Plaintiff NSP respectfully disagrees. Plaintiff submits this case is not subject to the Contract Disputes Act and a damages "claim" is therefore not required by statute, regulation or RCFC rule. However, in the interest of moving this case forward efficiently and economically, and consistent with the requirements of RCFC 26, NSP is prepared to submit a letter summarizing the major categories of its damages claim to facilitate the Government's damages discovery. This letter will identify, inter alia, the approximate amount of damages sought for each category of NSP's claim, and it will identify individuals at NSP who possess knowledge regarding the details of the damages that have been incurred in this case. The location of relevant documents will be disclosed in conformance with RCFC 26(a)(1)(B). NSP submits that such a letter should be more than sufficient to allow the Government to commence meaningful damages discovery. Expert reports detailing each damage category, along with complete back-up business records to support each category, would be provided well before trial but not at the outset of the damages discovery process.

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Case 1:98-cv-00484-JPW

Document 223

Filed 10/28/2004

Page 3 of 3

In view of the parties' competing positions, Plaintiff NSP respectfully requests that the Court hold a status conference at its earliest possible convenience to establish an appropriate schedule for this case. Once the Court has established an appropriate schedule, Plaintiff will proceed expeditiously to deliver its damages "claim" letter to the Government and to participate in all other aspects of pre-trial discovery. Dated: October 28, 2004 Of Counsel: Jay E. Silberg Devon E. Hewitt Michael G. Lepre Daniel S. Herzfeld Jack Y. Chu SHAW PITTMAN LLP 2300 N Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037 (202) 663-8000 (202) 663-8007 (fax) Respectfully submitted, s/ Alex D. Tomaszczuk by s/ Jack Y. Chu Alex D. Tomaszczuk SHAW PITTMAN LLP 1650 Tysons Boulevard McLean, VA 22102 (703) 770-7940 (703) 770-7901 (fax) Counsel of Record for Plaintiff Northern States Power Company

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