Free Letter - District Court of Delaware - Delaware

Case 1:04-cv-01494-JJF Document 141 Filed O4/13/2007 Page 1 of 3
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April 13, 2007
VIA CM/ECF AND HAND DELIVERY
John E. James, Esquire
Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP
1313 N. Market Street
P.O. Box 951
Wilmington, DE l9899-0951
Re: Magten Asset Management Corp. and Law Debenture Trust C0. v.
North Western Corp.; C.A. N0. 04-1494-JJF;
Magten Asset Management Corp. v. Mike .L Hanson and Ernie .L Kindt;
C.A. N0. 05-0499-JJF
Dear Special Master James:
Today plaintiffs Magten Asset Management Corporation and the Law Debenture Trust
Company of New York filed an emergency motion (the "Motion") seeking relief from certain
discovery tactics being employed by defendant NorthWestern Corporation that threaten to
disrupt deposition discovery currently underway. A courtesy copy of the Motion is enclosed.
The Motion has unusual urgency because, within the past week, NorthWestern began
advising Plaintiffs that it is recalling thousands of pages of documents it previously produced
(some as long as three months ago) under claims of inadvertent production and privilege, which
claims are disputed by the Plaintiffs. Additionally, although the Special Master previously
ordered NorthWestern to substantially complete its document production by March 16, 2007,
NorthWestern confirmed only a few days ago that it has withheld numerous and necessary SEC-
related documents under a claim of privilege that is totally unsupportable under controlling Third
Circuit law.
NorthWestern's discovery tactics threaten to disrupt Plaintiffs' ability to prepare for and
efficiently conduct depositions that are scheduled during the next 2-3 weeks. Many of the
deponents are third parties who are appearing pursuant to subpoenas, who likely will not be
subject to recall to testify about documents produced after their depositions.
Accordingly, Plaintiffs find it necessary to seek the unusual relief of respectfully
requesting that the Special Master immediately enter an order requiring Northwestern to respond
to the Motion within three business days, so as to permit the Special Master to set a hearing
Chase Manhattan Centre 1201 i\/iarlaet Street Suite 800 Wilmington, DE 198Di
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Case 1 :04-cv-01494-JJF Document 141 Filed O4/13/2007 Page 2 of 3
BLANK E ROMEILF
COUNSELORS AT LAW
John E. James, Esquire
April 13, 2007
Page 2
date on fully briefed issues at the Special Master's earliest convenience. Plaintiffs are willing to
waive reply for briefing for the sake of expedition.
Plaintiffs believe that the shortened response time requested is not unreasonable given
that the parties have already fully vetted the issues raised by the Motion in their communications
with each other. Additionally, because Plaintiffs cannot proceed with depositions until these
issues are resolved, the requested expedited briefing and hearing schedule is of utmost priority.
An additional issue of note involves the requested review of those documents that
N0rthWestern has identified for recall, to permit a determination as to whether privilege has been
properly asserted. Those documents have been compiled into six large three—ring binders being
held at my office, and are available for delivery to the Special Master at his convenience.
Counsel for the Plaintiffs apologize for this imposition on the Special Master's schedule,
but would greatly appreciate the Special Master's attention to the Motion at his earliest
convenience. Counsel are available by telephone should the Special Master have any questions.
Respectfully submitted,
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Dale R. Dube
I.D. No. 2863
Bonnie Steingart
FRIED, FRANK, HARRIS, SHRIVER &
JACOBSON LLP
New York, NY 10004
— and -
Kathleen M. Miller (DIE No. 2898)
SMITH, KATZENSTEIN & FURLOW, LLP
Wilmington, DE 19801
John V. Snellings
NIXON PEABODY LLP
Boston, MA 02110
i200s7.01600r4016s307v.1

Case 1 :04-cv-01494-JJF Document 141 Filed O4/13/2007 Page 3 of 3
Bl.ANK— RO/\/\Eiu>
COUNSELORS AT LAW
John E. James, Esquire
April 13, 2007
Page 3
DRD/pb
Enclosure
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