Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_08-cv-00484/USCOURTS-cand-3_08-cv-00484-31/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 893
Nature of Suit: Environmental Matters
Cause of Action: 42:4321 Review of Agency Action-Environment

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FARELLA BRAUN+MARTEL

Attorneys At Law

Russ Building / 235 Montgomery Street

San Francisco / CA 94104

T 415.954.4400 / F 415.954.4480

www.fbm.com

April 8, 2010

LLP

Via ECF

The Honorable Joseph C. Spero

United States District Court

Northern District of California, San Francisco Division

Courtroom A, 15th Floor

450 Golden Gate Avenue

San Francisco, CA 94102

Re: Center for Food Safety, et aL v. Tom Vilsack, et aL

Case No. 3:08-ev-0484-JSW

Dear Judge Spero:

Plaintiffs and Defendant-Intervenors Betaseed, Inc., SESVanderHave USA, Inc. and

Syngenta Seeds, Inc. (collectively, "Requesting Parties") hereby jointly request, as set forth

below, that the Court modify the requirement established in the Notice of Reference and Order re

Discovery Procedures ("Discovery Order") (Document 188, filed December 14, 2009) that lead

trial counsel for the parties "meet and confer in person" before filing a discovery motion in the

action referenced above.

A discovery dispute has arisen in the action referenced above. The Requesting Parties

are the parties directly involved in the dispute. The primary issue in the dispute is the application

of the work product doctrine to a category of documents that Plaintiffs have sought in a request

for production. Counsel for the Requesting Parties have exchanged e-mails regarding their

respective positions and have conferred by telephone on multiple occasions. Subsequently,

Plaintiffs demanded a "meeting of lead trial counsel" pursuant to the Discovery Order (¶ 1, at 2),

offering to meet in San Francisco absent relief from the Discovery Order, if such meeting can be

arranged on April 12 or 13, 2010.

The Requesting Parties jointly request that the Court permit the respective lead trial

counsel for the Requesting Parties to meet and confer by telephone conference call instead of "in

person." Alternatively, the Requesting Parties request that the Court permit lead trial counsel to

participate by phone in a meeting that respective local San Francisco counsel for the Requesting

Parties would attend in person. Lead trial counsel for one of the Plaintiffs is located in Honolulu,

Hawaii; and lead trial counsel for Defendant-Intervenors Betaseed, Inc., SESVanderHave USA,

Inc. and Syngenta Seeds, Inc. are located in New York, New York, Kansas City, Missouri and

Washington, D.C., respectively. The expense to the Requesting Parties for lead trial counsel to

travel to San Francisco to "meet and confer in person" is substantial and would be avoided, if this

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Honorable Joseph C. Spero

' April 8, 2010

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request were to be granted. In addition, lead trial counsel for Syngenta Seeds, Inc. has a health

problem that precludes her from traveling for at least ten days.

Finally, if the Court were to deny the request to permit all lead trial counsel to participate

by phone, the Requesting Parties request that the Court allow the Requesting Parties to satisfy

the Discovery Order requirement by having one lead trial counsel represent the four Plaintiffs

and one lead trial counsel represent the three Defendant-Intervenors at an "in person" meeting

regarding the dispute. Such a limited modification of the Discovery Order would be in the spirit

of the Court's requirement that the parties submit joint briefs on issues and would also address

the health problem mentioned above.

The Requesting Parties are attempting to schedule any required "in person" meeting in

San Francisco on April 12 or 13, 2010. Consequently, the Requesting Parties would appreciate

any guidance that the Court can provide as soon as the Court's schedule permits.

Respectfully submitted,

Dated: April 8, 2010 FARELLA BRAUN + MARTEL LLP

By: /s/

David J. Lazerwitz

Attorneys for Defendant-Intervenor

Syngenta Seeds, Inc.

Dated: April 8, 2010 HOLLAND & HART LLP

By: (with permission)

Nancy S. Bryson

Attorneys for Defendant-Intervenor

Syngenta Seeds, Inc.

Dated: April 8, 2010 STINSON MORRISON HECKER LLP

By: (with permission)

Daniel Bukovac

Attorneys for Defendant-Intervenor

SESVanderHave USA, Inc.

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The Honorable Joseph C. Spero

April 8, 2010

Page 3

Dated: April 8, 2010 DEBEVOISE & PLIMPTON LLP

By: (with permission)

Harry Zirlin

Attorneys for Defendant-Intervenor

Betaseed, Inc.

Dated: April 8, 2010 EARTH JUSTICE

By: (with permission)

Paul H. Achitoff

Attorneys for Plaintiff

Center for Food Safety

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Phone conference approved. IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: April 9, 2010

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORN

I

A

Judge Joseph C. Spero

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