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

Case 1:05-cv-01248-LJB

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS REDWOOD FURNITURE CO., et al. ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) ) ) UNITED STATES, ) ) Defendant. )

No. 05-1248C (Judge Bush)

DEFENDANT'S UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR AN ENLARGEMENT OF TIME TO RESPOND TO PLAINTIFF'S COMPLAINT Pursuant to Rule 6.1 of the Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims ("RCFC"), defendant, the United States, respectfully requests that the Court grant an enlargement of time of 31 days, to and including May 1, 2006, within which to respond to plaintiff's complaint. Defendant's response to plaintiff's We have contacted

complaint is currently due on March 31, 2006.

counsel for plaintiff, and he has stated that plaintiff is not opposed to the requested enlargement of time. been granted one 60-day enlargement of time. Presently, agency counsel for the Department of Air Force, the Federal agency involved in this matter, is in the final stages of completing the litigation report, as required by 28 U.S.C. § 520, and anticipates forwarding defendant's counsel his report by April 7, 2006. On March 17, 2006, agency counsel We previously have

contacted defendant's counsel, and he requested that defendant's counsel seek an enlargement of time to obtain additional documents from an Air Force base in Turkey that relate to

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plaintiffs' complaint.

An enlargement of 31 days will allow

agency counsel additional time to assemble and evaluate relevant records maintained by the agency and allow defendant's counsel time to review the case, coordinate our response with agency counsel, and obtain necessary internal review. Additionally, an enlargement of time is warranted due to the undersigned counsel's work in other cases and previously scheduled annual leave. In General Electric Co. v. United

States, No. 99-172 (Fed. Cl.), the undersigned will be participating in depositions throughout the week of April 3, 2006. In San Vicente Camalu, Spr. v. United States, No. 02-0811

(CIT), the undersigned is scheduled to be on business travel from March 20, 2006 to March 21, 2006, for an oral argument in that case. Also, from March 23, 2006 to March 31, 2006, the

undersigned will be on previously scheduled annual leave. Additionally, before the court of appeals, defendant's counsel is responsible for pending appeals, including: (1) Augustine v. VA, No. 04-3162 (Fed. Cir.), in which our response brief is due on April 17, 2006; (2) Momcilovic v. VA, No. 06-3023 (Fed. Cir.), in which our response brief is due on April 19, 2006; (3) Cantu v. OPM, No. 06-7043 (Fed. Cir.), in which our response brief is due 21-days from the filing of petitioner's brief; and (4) Powell v. Justice, No. 06-3125 (Fed. Cir.), in which our response brief is due 21-days from the filing of petitioner's brief. -2-

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In light of the above, the proposed enlargement is requested so that the deadlines in this case do not conflict with the deadlines in other cases. In addition, granting the proposed

enlargement will enable defendants' counsel to devote the attention and time needed to properly evaluate the agency's litigation report and proposed response to plaintiffs' complaint. Defendant respectfully requests that the Court grant our unopposed motion for an enlargement of time of 31 days, to and including May 1, 2006, within which to file our response to plaintiff's complaint. Respectfully submitted, PETER D. KEISLER Assistant Attorney General DAVID M. COHEN Director s/ Donald E. Kinner DONALD E. KINNER Assistant Director s/ Kent G. Huntington KENT G. HUNTINGTON Trial Attorney Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Attn: Classification Unit 8th Floor 1100 L Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530 Tel.: (202) 305-7561 Fax: (202) 353-7988 March 22, 2006 Attorneys for Defendant

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CERTIFICATE OF FILING I hereby certify that on March 22, 2006, a copy of the foregoing "DEFENDANT'S UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR AN ENLARGEMENT OF TIME TO RESPOND TO PLAINTIFF'S COMPLAINT" was filed electronically. I understand that notice of this 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/ Kent G. Huntington Kent G. Huntington