AWS Management, LLC et al v. United States of America et al

Filing 65

ORDER re 64 Granting (Sixth) Stipulation to extend discovery and trial deadlines. Bench Trial set for 11/14/2011 08:30 AM. Further Case Management Conference set for 4/14/2011 02:00 PM. Motion Hearing set for 4/14/2011 02:00 PM. Pretrial Conference set for 11/1/2011 02:00 PM. Signed by Judge Claudia Wilken on 5/27/2010. (ndr, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 5/27/2010)

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LGI LLP BRADLEY A. PATTERSON, Esq. (State Bar No. 155482) 18101 Von Karman Ave., Ste. 330 Irvine CA 92612 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] Attorney for Plaintiffs JOSEPH P. RUSSONIELLO (CSBN 44332) United States Attorney THOMAS MOORE (ASBN 4305-T780) Assistant United States Attorney Chief, Tax Division CYNTHIA STIER (DCBN 423256) Assistant United States Attorney 9th Floor Federal Building 450 Golden Gate Avenue, Box 36055 San Francisco, California 94102 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] ROBERT J. HIGGINS (DCBN 242966) Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice BART D. JEFFRESS (CT Juris No. 419184) Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice 555 4th St., N.W., Room 8816 Washington, D.C. 20001 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] Email: [e-mail] Attorneys for Defendant United States of America UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, OAKLAND DIVISION

) ) ) ) ) ) Plaintiff, ) v. ) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, by and ) ) through its Agent, the INTERNAL ) REVENUE SERVICE, ) ) Defendant. ) ) __________________________________ ) AWS MANAGEMENT, LLC, by and through MARY CHANDLER PETTY, a Partner Other than the Tax Matters Partner,

Case No. 05-1056 CW Consolidated with Case No. 05-1058 CW

SIXTH STIPULATION AND ORDER TO EXTEND DISCOVERY SCHEDULE, SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE, AND TRIAL DATE

STIPULATION TO EXTEND DISCOVERY & TRIAL DATES

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) ) ) ) ) ) Plaintiff, ) v. ) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, by and ) ) through its Agent, the INTERNAL ) REVENUE SERVICE, ) ) Defendant. __________________________________ ) AWS ACQUISITIONS, LLC, by and through MARY CHANDLER PETTY, a Partner Other than the Tax Matters Partner, This stipulation is entered into by and between the plaintiffs and the defendant and is based on the following facts: 1. Plaintiffs submitted their first written settlement offer to defendant offering

to settle all issues in this action on August 2, 2006. The Department of Justice, in concert with the Internal Revenue Service, evaluated that settlement offer under its normal procedures. A revised offer was submitted on May 19, 2010. 2. On February 2, 2009, the parties filed a stipulation (Document 49):

(I) notifying this Court that the parties were continuing to work towards settlement; and (ii) requesting that this Court continue discovery and trial deadlines to avoid the substantial expenditure of resources and effort attendant to defendant's intended course of discovery and to allow time for the Department of Justice to complete its evaluation of plaintiffs' offer and to finalize any settlement. 3. On February 4, 2009, this Court issued an order (Document 50) approving

the stipulation to continue discovery and trial deadlines, and set the following revised calendar in this action: Completion of Fact Discovery: June 15, 2009 Mandatory Settlement Conference on: July 17, 2009 Completion of Expert Discovery: October 16, 2009 Case-dispositive motions to be heard at 2:00 P.M. on: December 17, 2009 The pre-trial exchange between the parties will occur by: March 17, 2010
STIPULATION TO EXTEND DISCOVERY & TRIAL DATES

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A pre-trial conference will be held on: April 20, 2010 A four-day Court Trial will begin at 8:30 A.M. on: May 10, 2010 4. Notice from the Court's Clerk (Document 51) set the Mandatory

Settlement Conference on June 23, 2009; 5. On June 4, 2009, the parties filed a stipulation (Document 52):

(I) notifying this Court that the parties were continuing to work towards settlement; and (ii) requesting that this Court continue discovery and trial deadlines to avoid the substantial expenditure of resources and effort attendant to defendant's intended course of discovery and to allow time for the Department of Justice to complete its evaluation of plaintiffs' offer and to finalize any settlement. 6. On June 10, 2009, this Court issued an order (Document 53) approving

the stipulation to continue discovery and trial deadlines, and set the following revised calendar in this action: Completion of Fact Discovery: on or before October 15, 2009 Mandatory Settlement Conference no later than: November 17, 2009 Completion of Expert Discovery: on or before February 16, 2010 Case-dispositive motions and a further case management conference: 2:00 P.M. on April 8, 2010 The pre-trial exchange between the parties: pursuant to Court's Order for Pretrial Preparation A pre-trial conference on: October 26, 2010 at 2:00 P.M. A four-day Court Trial beginning at 8:30 A.M. on: November 15, 2010 7. Following the request of the parties (Document 55), the Court entered an

Order (Document 56) re-assigning this case to a Magistrate Judge. On July 15, 2009, the case was so re-assigned, and, on July 16, 2009, Chief United States Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James entered an Order (Document 57) scheduling a settlement conference for October 5, 2009, at 2:00 p.m. in Magistrate James' chambers. 8. On September 17, 2009, the parties filed a stipulation (Document 58):
STIPULATION TO EXTEND DISCOVERY & TRIAL DATES

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(i) notifying this Court that the parties were continuing to work towards settlement; and (ii) requesting that this Court continue discovery and trial deadlines to allow the parties to work towards finalizing a settlement without simultaneously preparing for trial. 9. On September 18, 2009, this Court issued an order (Document 59)

approving the stipulation to continue discovery and trial deadlines, and set the following revised calendar in this action: Completion of Fact Discovery: on or before February 15, 2010 Mandatory Settlement Conference no later than: March 17, 2010 Completion of Expert Discovery: on or before June 16, 2010 Case-dispositive motions and a further case management conference: 2:00 P.M. on August 12, 2010 The pre-trial exchange between the parties: pursuant to Court's Order for Pretrial Preparation A pre-trial conference on: February 22, 2011 at 2:00 P.M. A four-day Court Trial beginning at 8:30 A.M. on: March 14, 2011 10. On September 25, 2009, the parties filed a stipulation (Document 60),

notifying the Court that the settlement conference scheduled for October 5, 2009, had been rescheduled for March 2, 2010. 11. On January 26, 2010, the parties filed a stipulation (Document 61):

(i) notifying this Court that the parties were continuing to work towards settlement; and (ii) requesting that this Court continue discovery and trial deadlines to allow the parties to work towards finalizing a settlement without simultaneously preparing for trial. 12. On February 1, 2010, this Court issued an order (Document 62) approving

the stipulation to continue discovery and trial deadlines, and set the following revised calendar in this action: Completion of Fact Discovery: on or before June 15, 2010 Mandatory Settlement Conference no later than: July 19, 2010 Completion of Expert Discovery: on or before October 18, 2010
STIPULATION TO EXTEND DISCOVERY & TRIAL DATES

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Case-dispositive motions and a further case management conference: 2:00 P.M. on December 16, 2010 The pre-trial exchange between the parties: pursuant to Court's Order for Pretrial Preparation A pre-trial conference on: June 28, 2011, at 2:00 P.M. A four-day Court Trial beginning at 8:30 A.M. on: July 18, 2011 13. On February 4, 2010, the parties filed a stipulation (Document 63),

notifying the Court that the settlement conference scheduled for March 2, 2010, had been rescheduled for July 9, 2010. 14. Since the Court ordered the last extension of deadlines, plaintiffs filed with

the Internal Revenue Service all of the back tax returns that would be affected if their settlement offer were accepted. After defendant had an opportunity to review the returns and the recalculations of tax liability that form the bases for plaintiffs' settlement offer, the parties scheduled and participated in a telephonic conference on April 30, 2010, addressing the offer and the necessary remaining steps for completing any settlement. Participating on the call were plaintiffs' attorney, plaintiffs' accountant, defendant's lead attorney, and an attorney from the IRS. As a result of the conference, plaintiffs revised their settlement offer and submitted the revised offer to settle all issues in these consolidated cases to the Department of Justice on May 19, 2010. 15. The parties continue to believe that settlement is likely and are working

diligently towards a final action by the Department of Justice on plaintiffs' revised offer to settle all issues in this case. Settlement efforts are continuing and there has been no breakdown of communications and no impasse has arisen. 16. The parties appreciate the Court's patience as the parties work to finalize

the settlement. The parties believe that requiring the parties to prepare for settlement conferences or trial would be counterproductive to reaching a settlement in this action.
STIPULATION TO EXTEND DISCOVERY & TRIAL DATES

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17.

Based on the facts presented, the plaintiffs and the defendant request an

extension of an additional four months for each of the existing deadlines. Respectfully Submitted, FOR THE PLAINTIFFS LGI LLP Bradley A. Patterson, Esq. Date: May 21, 2010 By s/Bradley A. Patterson Bradley A. Patterson Attorney for Plaintiffs

FOR THE UNITED STATES UNITED STATES ATTORNEY Joseph P. Russoniello , Esq. Thomas Moore, Esq. Cynthia Stier, Esq. Robert J. Higgins, Esq. Bart D. Jeffress, Esq. Date: May 21, 2010 By s/Robert J. Higgins Robert J. Higgins Attorneys for Defendant

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STIPULATION TO EXTEND DISCOVERY & TRIAL DATES

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ORDER Based on the facts and stipulation set forth above, IT IS ORDERED: 1. 2. Fact Discovery shall be completed on or before: October 15, 2010; A Mandatory Settlement Conference shall be conducted before Magistrate

Judge Maria-Elena James no later than November 19, 2010, at the convenience of Magistrate James' calendar; 3. 4. Expert Discovery shall be completed on or before: February 18, 2011; All case-dispositive motions and a further case management conference

shall be heard at 2:00 P.M. on April 14, 2011; 5. The pre-trial exchange between the parties shall occur in accordance with

the Court's Order for Pretrial Preparation. 6. A pre-trial conference will be held on: November 1, 2011, at 2:00 P.M.;

A four-day Court Trial will begin at 8:30 A.M. on: November 14, 2011.

The Honorable Claudia Wilken United States District Court Judge

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STIPULATION TO EXTEND DISCOVERY & TRIAL DATES