Free Motion to Amend Schedule - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:96-cv-00700-LB

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS APACHE APARTMENT OF OWATONA, ET AL., Plaintiffs, v. THE UNITED STATES, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 96-700C (Judge Block)

JOINT MOTION FOR MODIFICATION OF SCHEDULING ORDER Pursuant to Rule 6(b) of the Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims, plaintiffs, Apache Apartments of Owatonna, et al., and defendant, the United States, hereby jointly move to modify the Scheduling Order issued in this case on February 24, 2004. By this motion, the parties request that

all pending deadlines be extended by a period of two months. Accordingly, the parties request that the remaining schedule be modified as follows: Completion of fact discovery: October 20, 2004;

Disclosure of identity of experts and production of expert reports: December 8, 2004;



Production of expert rebuttal reports, if any: January 5, 2005;



Completion of depositions of expert witnesses: February 23, 2005;



Joint Status Report due:

March 8, 2005.

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This is the parties' first joint request to enlarge the time for completing fact and expert discovery. Counsel for both

parties have discussed this motion and agree to amend the remaining deadlines in this case as set forth above. The parties have been working to complete all fact discovery related to the nine properties at issue in this matter by the current deadline of August 20, 2004. The parties have engaged in

several rounds of written discovery, volumes of documents have been produced, and the depositions of plaintiffs' numerous fact witnesses have been noticed to take place during the next few weeks. However, given the number of properties and witnesses

involved in this case, the parties have determined that additional time is necessary for the completion of fact discovery in a thorough and effective manner. In particular, the parties have determined that the completion of fact discovery in this case by August 20, 2004 is being complicated by litigation in Chancellor Manor v. United States, No. 98-39C (Fed. Cl.), a case that involves almost the same issues that concern this case. First, counsel for

plaintiffs in this case is also lead counsel for the plaintiffs in Chancellor Manor. Second, the parties had scheduled

depositions for next week in both this case and Chancellor Manor, but are rescheduling the depositions in this case to accommodate the Chancellor Manor depositions. Third, counsel for plaintiffs

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in this case is also, currently, engaged in the preparation of expert reports in Chancellor Manor. Fourth, Chancellor Manor is

on a schedule for trial this year, with fact discovery to close on July 30, 2004, and expert reports and expert discovery to follow through August and September. Finally, plaintiffs'

counsel are also currently engaged in discovery and briefing in a number of other matters, including Grass Valley Terrace v. United States, No. 98-726C (Fed. Cl.), Allegre Villa LP v. United States, No. 98-823C (Fed. Cl.), and PEC Solutions, Inc. v. NCS Pearson, Inc., No. 03-5214 (D. Minn.). The parties also expect

that extending discovery in this case until further discovery is completed in Chancellor Manor has the potential of making further discovery in this case more efficient, as the parties clarify the issues arising in these related cases. Therefore, the parties respectfully request that the Court, for good cause shown, extend each of the current deadlines by a period of two months as set forth above. Prior to the filing of this joint motion, counsel for plaintiffs read this motion, and consented to its electronic filing. Respectfully submitted, PETER D. KEISLER Assistant Attorney General DAVID M. COHEN Director

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s/ Jeff H. Eckland JEFF H. ECKLAND, ESQ. FAEGRE & BENSON, LLP 2200 Wells Fargo Center 90 South Seventh Street Minneapolis, MN 55402 Attorney for Plaintiffs July 21, 2004

s/Brian M. Simkin BRIAN M. SIMKIN Assistant Director

s/Timothy P. McIlmail TIMOTHY P. MCILMAIL Trial Attorney Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division Department of Justice 1100 L Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530 Telephone: (202) 307-0361 Facsimile: (202) 514-7965 Attorneys for Defendant July 22, 2004

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CERTIFICATE OF FILING I hereby certify that on July 22, 2004, a copy of foregoing JOINT MOTION FOR MODIFICATION OF SCHEDULING ORDER 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. the Court's system. s/Timothy P. McIlmail TIMOTHY P. MCILMAIL Parties may access this filing through