The Pacific Lumber Company et al v. General Star Indemnity Company et al

Filing 176

ORDER CONTINUING Case Management Conference to 8/4/2009 10:00 AM re 175 . Further joint status report due no later than 7/28/2009. Signed by Judge Elizabeth D. Laporte on 5/13/09. (lmh, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 5/13/2009)

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SCOTT J. KAPLAN (#143478) ANDREW F. BRIMMER (#179146) STOEL RIVES LLP 900 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 2600 Portland, OR 97204 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] Attorneys for Plaintiffs/Counter-Defendants MAXXAM INC., MAXXAM GROUP INC., MAXXAM GROUP HOLDINGS INC., CHARLES E. HURWITZ, JOHN CAMPBELL and ROBERT MANNE ALAN H. BARBANEL (#108196) KATY A. NELSON (#173759) BARBANEL & TREUER, P.C. 1925 Century Park East, Suite 350 Los Angeles, CA 90067 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] Attorneys for Defendant, Counterclaimant, Cross-Claimant and Third-Party Plaintiff GENERAL STAR INDEMNITY COMPANY SHERMAN C. LEE (#145765) COLLIAU ELENIUS MURPHY CARLUCCIO KEENER & MORROW 405 Howard Street, Suite 600 San Francisco, CA 94105 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] Attorneys for Defendant and Counter-Complainant TRANSPORTATION INSURANCE COMPANY REBECCA R. WEINREICH (#155684) LEWIS BRISBOIS BISGAARD & SMITH LLP 221 North Figueroa Street, 12th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90012 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] Attorneys for Third-Party Defendant NATIONAL UNION FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY OF PITTSBURGH, PA

JOINT STATUS REPORT

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C-06 0212 EDL

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JOINT STATUS REPORT

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION

THE PACIFIC LUMBER COMPANY, a Delaware corporation; SCOTIA PACIFIC COMPANY LLC, a Delaware corporation; MAXXAM INC., a Delaware corporation; MAXXAM GROUP INC., a Delaware corporation; MAXXAM GROUP HOLDINGS INC., a Delaware corporation; CHARLES E. HURWITZ, an individual; GARY CLARK, an individual; JOHN CAMPBELL, an individual; and ROBERT MANNE, an individual, Plaintiffs, v. GENERAL STAR INDEMNITY COMPANY, a Connecticut corporation; TRANSPORTATION INSURANCE COMPANY, an Illinois corporation, Defendants. And Related Third Party Actions.

Case No. C-06 0212 EDL JOINT STATUS REPORT AND ORDER THEREON Date: May 19, 2009 Time: 10:00 a.m. Dept.: Courtroom E The Honorable Elizabeth Laporte

Pursuant to the Court's Order of April 9, 2009, the parties to this action jointly submit this joint status report. The parties have consented to trial before Magistrate Judge Laporte. As this Court is aware, the parties are negotiating a dismissal of this action. These negotiations are comprised of two components, the first of which involves the Chapter 11 bankruptcy action filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Corpus Christi Division, case numbers 07-20028-C-11 and 70-20032-C-11 (jointly administered under case number 07-20027-C-11) by plaintiffs Pacific Lumber Company ("PALCO") and Scotia Pacific Company, LLC.

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As a result of the bankruptcy action, PALCO's interests are now represented by the PLC Litigation Trust (the "PLC Trust"), which now holds all of PALCO's rights pursuant to the approved bankruptcy plan. Plaintiffs Scotia Pacific Company LLC and Scotia Pacific Holding Company LLC have been dissolved and their interests are now represented by the SPC Litigation Trust (the "SPC Trust"). The PLC Trust, the SPC Trust, and defendants Transportation Insurance Co. and General Star Indemnity Co. have recently executed a Stipulation Resolving Claims Under CNA Insurance Program in the bankruptcy action which settles the claims among them. This Stipulation was filed with the bankruptcy court on May 5, 2009 in a Motion for Order Approving Compromise and Settlement. Assuming that no objections will be filed, the bankruptcy court will act on the motion no less than 25 days after filing, or in early June 2009. If this motion is granted, then the PLC Trust and SPC Trust's claims against Transportation Insurance Co. and General Star Indemnity Co. in this action will be dismissed. The second component of negotiations concerns the claims made by the remaining plaintiffs, MAXXAM Inc., et al. These plaintiffs have conveyed a proposal to Transportation Insurance Co. and General Star Indemnity Co. to resolve their disputes regarding the duty to defend, and progress has been made towards a resolution and dismissal of this action. The parties have reached a resolution in principle, and working on the terms and documentation of a proposed interim defense agreement and tolling agreement. Accordingly, to permit further time for the Motion for Order Approving Compromise and Settlement to be considered and heard by the bankruptcy court, to account for any possible appeal of the ruling of that motion, and for the parties to negotiate the remaining terms of MAXXAM's proposed resolution and document the same, the parties respectfully request that the Case Management Conference currently scheduled for May 19, 2009 be continued for 60 days. \\\ \\\ \\\
JOINT STATUS REPORT

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JOINT STATUS REPORT

Respectfully submitted, DATED: May 12, 2009 STOEL RIVES LLP By: /s/ Scott J. Kaplan SCOTT J. KAPLAN Attorneys for Plaintiffs/Counter-Defendants MAXXAM INC., MAXXAM GROUP INC., MAXXAM GROUP HOLDINGS INC., CHARLES E. HURWITZ, JOHN CAMPBELL and ROBERT MANNE DATED: May 12, 2009 COLLIAU ELENIUS MURPHY CARLUCCIO KEENER & MORROW By: /s/ Sherman C. Lee SHERMAN C. LEE Attorneys for Defendant and Counter-Complainant TRANSPORTATION INSURANCE COMPANY DATED: May 12, 2009 BARBANEL & TREUER, P.C. By: /s/ Alan H. Barbanel ALAN H. BARBANEL Attorneys for Defendant, Counterclaimant, Cross-Claimant and Third-Party Plaintiff GENERAL STAR INDEMNITY COMPANY DATED: May 12, 2009 LEWIS BRISBOIS BISGAARD & SMITH LLP By: /s/ Rebecca R. Weinreich REBECCA R. WEINREICH Attorneys for Third-Party Defendant NATIONAL UNION FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY OF PITTSBURGH, PA DECLARATION REGARDING SIGNATURES I, Sherman C. Lee, declare under penalty of perjury that I obtained concurrence to file this document from counsel for defendants. /s/ Sherman C. Lee Sherman C. Lee

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ORDER The case management conference currently scheduled for May 19, 2009 is continued to August 4 ______________, 2009. Counsel shall submit a further joint status report to the Court no later July 28 than ______________, 2009.

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13 Dated: May ____, 2009

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_________________________________________ RDERE S SO O IT I THE HONORABLE ELIZABETH D. LAPORTE

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PROOF OF SERVICE I am a citizen of the United States, over the age of eighteen years, and not a party to the within action; my business address is Colliau Elenius Murphy Carluccio Keener & Morrow, Suite 600, 405 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. On May 12, 2009, I served the foregoing document described as: JOINT STATUS REPORT on the attorney(s) of record and/or interested parties in the case The Pacific Lumber Co., et al. v. General Star Indemnity Co., et al. and related cross-actions, U.S.D.C., No. Dist. of California, Case No. C 060212 EDL, as follows: SEE ATTACHED SERVICE LIST BY FACSIMILE TRANSMISSION. By transmitting via facsimile machine to the parties listed above. The facsimile machine I used complied with California Rules of Court, Rule 2003 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4, and the transmission was reported as complete, without error by a transmission report issued by the transmitting facsimile machine immediately upon completion of transmittal. the original thereof enclosed in sealed envelope(s) to the parties By placing a true copy listed above and transmitting: BY U.S. MAIL. I am "readily familiar" with the firm's practice of collection and processing correspondence for mailing. It is deposited with the U.S. Postal Service on the same day with postage thereon fully prepaid at San Francisco, California in the ordinary course of business. I am aware that on motion of party served, service is presumed invalid if postal cancellation date or postage meter date is more than 1 day after date of deposit for mailing in affidavit. BY OVERNIGHT CARRIER. I delivered the foregoing documents to a courier or driver authorized by the overnight carrier to receive and transport documents for overnight delivery. I am "readily familiar" with the firm's practice of collection and processing correspondence for overnight carrier. It is deposited with the overnight carrier on the same day with postage thereon fully prepaid at San Francisco, California in the ordinary course of business. I am aware that on motion of party served, service is presumed invalid if postal cancellation date or postage meter date is more than 1 day after date of deposit for mailing in affidavit. BY ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION. I electronically transmitted the attached documents to the Clerk of the Court using the ECF System for filing. Based on the records currently on file, the Clerk of the Court will transmit a Notice of Electronic Filing to the ECF registrants.

PROOF OF SERVICE

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I declare that I am employed in the office of a member of the bar of this Court at whose direction the service was made. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on May 12, 2009, in the City and County of San Francisco, California. /s/Paula Woolery______ PAULA WOOLERY

PROOF OF SERVICE - 2

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THE PACIFIC LUMBER COMPANY, ET AL. V. GENERAL STAR INDEMNITY COMPANY, ET AL.
AND RELATED CROSS-ACTIONS

U.S.D.C., NO. DIST. OF CALIFORNIA, CASE NO. : C 060212 EDL Service List Scott Jonathan Kaplan Stoel Rives LLP 900 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 2600 Portland, OR 97204-1268 503-294-9318 503-294-9843 (fax) [e-mail] Andrew F. Brimmer Sarah F. Peterman Stoel Rives LLP 111 Sutter Street, Suite 700 San Francisco, CA 94104 415-617-8900 415-676-3000 (fax) [e-mail] [e-mail] Alan H. Barbanel Katy A. Nelson Barbanel & Treuer 1925 Century Park East Suite 350 Los Angeles, CA 90067 310-282-8088 310-282-8779 (fax) [e-mail] Rebecca R. Weinreich Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP 221 North Figueroa Street,12th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90012 213-250-1800 213-481-0621 (Fax) Attorneys for Plaintiffs/Counter-Defendants THE PACIFIC LUMBER COMPANY, SCOTIA PACIFIC COMPANY LLC; MAXXAM INC., MAXXAM GROUP, INC., CHARLES E. HURWITZ, GARY CLARK, JOHN CAMPBELL and ROBERT MANNE Attorneys for Plaintiffs/Counter-Defendants THE PACIFIC LUMBER COMPANY, SCOTIA PACIFIC COMPANY LLC; MAXXAM INC., MAXXAM GROUP, INC., CHARLES E. HURWITZ, GARY CLARK, JOHN CAMPBELL and ROBERT MANNE

Attorneys for Defendants GENERAL STAR INDEMNITY COMPANY

Attorneys for Third Party Defendant NATIONAL UNION FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY OF PITTSBURGH, PA

SERVICE LIST