Free Letter - District Court of California - California

Case 3:07-cv-05086-WHA
EDMUND G. BROWN JR. Attorney General

Document 42

Filed 06/11/2008

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State of California DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
455 GOLDEN GATE AVENUE, SUITE 11000 SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102-7004

Public: (415) 703-5500 Telephone: (415) 703-5749 Facsimile: (415) 703-5480 E-Mail: [email protected]

June 11, 2008 The Hon. William H Alsup Judge of the United States District Court Phillip Burton United States Courthouse 450 Golden Gate Avenue, 16th Floor San Francisco, CA 94102-3434 Re: California State Foster Parent Association, et al. v. Wagner United States District Court, Northern District of California, Case No. C075086JL

Dear Judge Alsup: I have just received an electronic copy of your Order Setting Hearing on Plaintiffs' Discovery Dispute of today (June 6, 2008), Document 41 in the electronic docket. Following receipt of your order, at 4:02 p.m. today I telephoned plaintiff's counsel, Steve Keane, to discuss the timing of the briefing and hearing schedule in your order, but reached only his telephone voicemail. I left him a message and asked him to return my call. As of the time I submitted this letter to you via Pacer, approximately 4:20 p.m., I had not heard back from Mr. Keane. In the meantime, I respectfully request that the Court reset the briefing and hearing schedule set in today's order. I have an appearance tomorrow morning in Department 301 of the San Francisco Superior Court on a motion regarding implementation of a remedial Medi-Cal reimbursement program run by the California Department of Health Care Services, in Conlan, et al., v. Shewry, et al., San Francisco Superior Court case no. 987 697. Because that case is 11 years old, and generally involves extensive court time, Judge Busch always calls it at the end of his morning calendar and we typically do not leave his courtroom until noon, sometimes later. Preparation for that hearing will make it problematic for me to prepare a response to Mr. Keane's letter brief for submission to you by 9:00 a.m. on Friday the 13th. Moreover, I will be out of state on a long-planned, pre-paid vacation with my wife and children from Saturday, June 14th through Saturday, June 21st, and thus unable to appear in your courtroom on the morning of June 16th. I believe that Mr. Keane has known that I would be gone the week of June 16-20th since our meet and confer telephone call of Wednesday, May 28th. Given that there are no depositions currently scheduled in this action, and that the trial date is in November, there would be no prejudice to plaintiff if the issue of the deliberative process privilege is not determined until the week of June 23rd, when I will be back in the office. Accordingly, defendants respectfully request that today's order setting the discovery dispute be

Case 3:07-cv-05086-WHA Northern District of California June 11, 2008 Page 2

Document 42

Filed 06/11/2008

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vacated and the matter put over until the week of June 23rd, with a written response to be filed no earlier than Tuesday, June 24th. To the extent that any discovery deadlines are thrown askew by such a continuance, defendants will extend any dates commensurate with an extension. Sincerely, /s/ George Prince GEORGE PRINCE Deputy Attorney General For EDMUND G. BROWN JR. Attorney General