ROBBINS et al v. LOWER MERION SCHOOL DISTRICT et al

Filing 26

RESPONSE to Motion re 25 MOTION for Extension of Time to File Answer to Motion to Intervene filed by LOWER MERION SCHOOL DISTRICT, CHRISTOPHER W. MCGINLEY, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE LOWER MERION SCHOOL DISTRICT. (LANTIERI, PAUL)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA BLAKE J. ROBBINS, et al., Plaintiffs v. LOWER MERION SCHOOL DISTRICT, et al., Defendants : Civil Action : : No. 10-665 : : Hon. Jan E. DuBois : : : :

DEFENDANTS' RESPONSE TO PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE A RESPONSE TO MOTION TO INTERVENE Defendants, Lower Merion School District, the Board of Directors of the Lower Merion School District, and Christopher W. McGinley, Superintendent of the Lower Merion School District (collectively, the "District"), hereby respond to plaintiffs' motion [Doc. No. 25] for an extension of time to respond to the pending motion to intervene [Doc. No. 21]. The District does not oppose plaintiffs' motion. The District welcomes the participation of the proposed intervenors and all District parents and students in the District's response to allegations regarding use of the laptop tracking software application at issue in this action. The District respectfully submits, however, that the plaintiffs' requested extension would provide the District's special counsel and computer forensic specialists a reasonable amount of time to complete their investigation of the facts relating to the history and use of the laptop tracking software application, and thus protect the District from incurring additional and potentially unnecessary legal expenses as the investigation proceeds. Among other things, the District is seeking to ascertain: (i) the extent to which the laptop tracking software application was used; and (ii) to what extent there exists evidence of the use of the laptop tracking software application (such as webcam photographs). The District's

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advisors have made substantial progress in their investigation. They have interviewed more than twenty-five witnesses having information that the District's advisors believed might be pertinent to their investigation; collected, and are in the process of analyzing, approximately nineteen terabytes of electronic data from District computer systems, including pertinent file and e-mail servers and individual employees' computers; and collected, and are in the process of reviewing, tens of thousands of hard copy and electronic documents, including e-mails. The District is sharing relevant information with plaintiffs' counsel and computer forensic specialist. The District is hopeful that this process will enable an expeditious and costefficient resolution of this litigation. Moreover, the District intends to make public the results of its comprehensive investigation. The District's hope is that the public airing of these findings will answer the questions and concerns of the parents, students and taxpayers of the District.

Respectfully submitted, /s/Paul Lantieri III Arthur Makadon Henry E. Hockeimer, Jr. Paul Lantieri III William B. Igoe Ballard Spahr LLP 1735 Market Street, 51st Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103-7599 Tel. [phone] Fax [phone] [e-mail] [e-mail] [e-mail] [e-mail] Attorneys for Defendants, Lower Merion School District, the Board of Directors of the Lower Merion School District, and Christopher W. McGinley

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on this day I caused a true and correct copy of the foregoing Defendants' Response to Plaintiffs' Motion For An Extension Of Time To File A Response To Motion To Intervene to be served upon the below-listed counsel by the means indicated below: By ECF, and such document is available for viewing and downloading from the ECF system: Mark S. Haltzman Stephen Levin Frank Schwartz Lamm Rubenstone LLC 3600 Horizon Boulevard, Suite 200 Trevose, PA 19053 Tel. [phone] Fax [phone] [e-mail] [e-mail] [e-mail] Attorneys for Plaintiffs, Blake J. Robbins, Michael E. Robbins, and Holly S. Robbins Larry D. Silver David E. Romine Langsam Stevens & Silver LLP 1616 Walnut St. Suite 1700 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Tel. [phone] Fax [phone] [e-mail] Michael J. Boni Boni & Zack LLC 15 St. Asaphs Rd. Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 Tel. [phone] Fax [phone] [e-mail] Attorneys for Proposed Intervenors Colleen and Kenneth Wortley, Frances and David McComb, and Lorena Chambers Charles D. Mandracchia Mandracchia & McWhirk, LLC 2024 Cressman Rd. P.O. Box 1229 Skippack, PA 19474 Tel. [phone] Fax [phone] Email: [e-mail] Attorney for Movant, Carol Cafiero

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By e-mail and first-class mail: Bart D. Cohen Neill W. Clark Berger & Montague, P.C. 1622 Locust Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 Tel. [phone] [e-mail] [e-mail] Attorneys for Proposed Intervenors Colleen and Kenneth Wortley, Frances and David McComb, and Lorena Chambers Thomas F. Grady Law Office of Thomas F. Grady, P.C. The Bye-Benson House 2033 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 Tel. [phone] Fax [phone] [e-mail] Attorneys for Proposed Intervenors Colleen and Kenneth Wortley, Frances and David McComb, and Lorena Chambers

Date: March 22, 2010 /s/Paul Lantieri III Paul Lantieri III

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