Free Motion for Extension of Time to Complete Discovery - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:03-cv-02771-MBH

Document 25

Filed 12/29/2005

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS RONALD ADAMS CONTRACTOR, INC. ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ) THE UNITED STATES, ) ) Defendant. )

No. 03-2771C (Judge Horn)

DEFENDANT'S UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR ENLARGEMENT OF DISCOVERY Defendant respectfully requests that the Court enlarge the time for the parties to conclude discovery in this case by three months, changing its current deadline of December 31, 2005 to March 31, 2006 with a joint status report to be filed by April 10, 2006. We have discussed this matter with counsel for plaintiff and represent that he does not oppose this request. The reason we are requesting this enlargement is because of the effects of Hurricane Katrina upon the New Orleans District of the Corps of Engineers ("the Corps"), which is the Government agency which administered the contract at issue in this case. The Court is undoubtedly familiar with the general effects of Hurricane Katrina upon New Orleans and the massive scope of levee reconstruction efforts presently being led by the Corps. For a significant period of time after the hurricane struck, Corps personnel were evacuated from New Orleans and were working from temporary offices in Mississippi. Although the Corps has returned to its offices in New Orleans, the attorneys and most of the technical personnel who are involved in this litigation have been assigned to the task force which is responsible for rebuilding the levee system by June 30, 2006, when the next hurricane season begins. This task has absorbed and will continue to absorb substantially all of their available time. Nevertheless, we anticipate that the relevant Corps personnel will be available to participate in depositions necessary for the

Case 1:03-cv-02771-MBH

Document 25

Filed 12/29/2005

Page 2 of 2

conclusion of discovery in this case by February and March of 2006. For these reasons, we respectfully request that the Court grant this unopposed motion and enlarge the discovery period of this case until March 31, 2006. Respectfully submitted, PETER D. KEISLER Assistant Attorney General

DAVID M. COHEN Director

s/ Harold D. Lester, Jr. HAROLD D. LESTER, JR. Assistant Director

s/ J. Reid Prouty J. REID PROUTY Trial Attorney Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division Department of Justice Attn: Classification Unit 8th Floor, 1100 L Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530 Tele: (202) 305-7586 Attorneys for Defendant December 29, 2005

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