Free Letter - District Court of Delaware - Delaware

Case 1 :04-cv-01494-JJF Document 37 Filed O1/O9/2006 Page 1 of 3
BLAN|<— ROMEtrr·
courrsrtons AT raw
Phone: (302) 425-6467
Fax: (302) 425-6464
Email: [email protected]
January 9, 2006
VIA CMF AND HAND DELIVERY
The Honorable Joseph J. Faman, Jr.
United States District Court
for the District of Delaware
844 King Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
Re: • Magten Asset Management Corp. and Law Debenture Trust C0. v.
Northwestern Corp.; C.A. No. 04-1494-JIF
• Magten Asset Management Corp. v. Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker,
LLP; C.A. No. 04-1256-JJF
• Magten Asset Management Corp. v. Mike J Hanson and Ernie J Kindt;
C.A. No. 05-0499-JJF
Your Honor:
We write on behalf of Magten Asset Management Corp. and Law Debenture Trust, the
plaintiffs in the above-captioned actions. On January 4, 2006, the parties conferred in
accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(i). All parties agree that discovery in the above cases should
proceed on a consolidated basis.
However, the parties disagree on when that discovery should commence and how long it
should take:
Defendants’ Position
It is the defendants' view that discovery should not commence until the Court has held a
scheduling conference pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 16 and entered a scheduling order. With
respect to the terms of a scheduling order, the defendants propose a twelve-month period of
discovery. With respect to C. A. No. 05-0499-JJF transferred to this District from the District of
Montana, the defendants' position is that discovery should not begin until the Court has expressly
lifted the stay pending transfer that was imposed by the transferring district.
Chase Manhattan Centre 1201 Market Street Suite 800 Wilmington, DE 19801
wvvw.BlankRome.com
Delaware • Florida • Maryland • New Jersey • New York • Ohio • Pennsylvania • Washington, DC

Case 1:04-cv-01494-JJF Document 37 Filed O1/O9/2006 Page 2 of 3
BLANK — ROMEiu»
COUNSELORS AT LAW
The Honorable Joseph J. Faman, Jr.
January 9, 2006
Page 2
Plaintiffs' Position
It is the plaintiffs' position that the status conference held on October 21, 2005 satisfied
the requirements of Rule 16 and that, by requesting and obtaining the Court's permission to
proceed with another round of mediation, both the defendants and the Court recognize that the
stay of the Montana action is no longer in effect. Since the parties have satisfied their
_ obligations under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(i), discovery under the applicable rules can and should
proceed immediately. In this regard, the plaintiffs propose a six-month period for discovery that
would allow approximately four months for fact discovery, followed by approximately two
months for expert reports and discovery.
The plaintiffs therefore respectfully propose and submit the attached form of Scheduling
Order for the Court's consideration, and anticipate that the defendants will submit their proposed
version under separate cover. The plaintiffs' version contains blanks for those dates and times
that are dependant upon the Court's calendar.
Counsel is available by telephone, should Your Honor have any questions.
Respectfully submitted,
&..0.1., ®:,.e..Q»~.¤i..
Dale R. Dubé (#2863)
- and -
Bonnie Steingart
FRIED, FRANK, HARRIS, SHRIVER &
JACOBSON LLP
One New York Plaza
New York, NY 10004
DRD:pb
Attachment
cc: Clerk of Court (via CMF)
Bijan Amini, Esquire (via Federal Express)
Jessie H. Austin, III, Esquire (via Federal Express)
Elio Battista, Jr. Esquire

Case 1 :04-cv-01494-JJF Document 37 Filed O1/O9/2006 Page 3 of 3
BLANK — ROMELLP
COUNSELORS AT LAW
The Honorable Joseph J. Farnan, Jr.
January 9, 2006
Page 3
Kimberly A. Beatty, Esquire (via Federal Express)
John Brewer, Esquire
William E. Chipman, Jr., Esquire (via hand delivery)
Alicia B. Davis (via hand delivery)
Robert J. Delmey, Esquire (via hand delivery)
Nancy E. Delaney, Esquire (via Federal Express)
Karol K. Dermiston, Esquire (via Federal Express)
David L. Finger, Esquire (via hand delivery)
Dennis E. Glazer, Esquire (via Federal Express)
Miriam Harwood, Esquire (via Federal Express)
David A. Jenkins, Esquire (via hand delivery)
Stanley T. Kaleczyc, Esquire (via Federal Express)
Gary Kaplan, Esquire
Denise Seastone KraR, Esquire (via hand delivery)
Adam G. Landis, Esquire (via hand delivery)
Curtis S. Miller, Esquire (via hand delivery)
Kathleen M. Miller, Esquire (via hand delivery)
Joseph D. Pizzurro (via Federal Express)
Steven J. Reisman, Esquire (via Federal Express)
Avery Samet, Esquire (via Federal Express)
John V. Snellings, Esquire (via Federal Express)
Paul Spagnoletti, Esquire (via Federal Express)
D. Scott Tucker, Esquire (via Federal Express)