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Enron Mail |
Why don't we file a lawsuit in state district court in Houston, serve them,
and wait for their counsel to appear or take a default. We need to force them to respond. Let me know what you think. Britt Davis@ENRON 02/02/2001 10:08 AM To: Andrew Edison/NA/Enron@Enron cc: Richard B Sanders/HOU/ECT@ECT, Scott Neal/HOU/ECT@ECT, Tanya Rohauer/HOU/ECT@ECT, Russell Diamond/HOU/ECT@ECT Subject: ENA v. Triad Andy, This is basically a collection action for about $1,800,000 of unpaid spot gas sales against Triad, a very small company whose address (or at least one address) is in Columbus, Maryland. The unpaid sales deals began around February of 2000. All the deals were made over the phone by the trader, and then confirmed with ENA's spot gas sales forms ("confirms"). Per ENA's usual custom and practice, neither ENA nor Triad signed the confirms, although there are signature lines. ENA scheduled the gas due for all of these deals. Triad paid off some other deals, but has since stopped sending us any money. I am told that the deals that are unpaid began in late February 2000. Triad's principal, Sherwood Purnell, has apparently admitted in a recorded telephone conference that he would pay us. Our information is that Triad is financially unable to pay us or anyone else. Per the mandatory arbitration language in the confirms, we have sent an arbitration demand to Triad. Triad did not respond. The AAA has sent out a list of arbitrators from which the parties are to make selections by February 7. I have called a telephone number which gives a recording for Triad and an extension for Purnell, and left a message that I want to discuss the case. This was on Monday. I have also had Becky, my legal assistant, call up Triad's registered agent for service of process, although the Maryland secretary of state's office shows that Triad is no longer in good standing. The person whose name is listed as the registered agent answered and told Becky (a) he was still the right party to receive service of process and (b) he was "aware of us". This leads me to believe that the address that we have been using is a good address. We did get someone to sign for documents that we sent to that address. What I don't want to do, however, is go all the way through arbitration, get a default judgment, then, when we try to enforce it, have Triad complain that we sent the demand and the pleadings to the wrong address. My plan is to ask the AAA for a fifteen-day extension of time within which to send our demand and other relevant pleadings to the registered agent and any other address that looks viable, by Federal Express or certified mail, so that we get a receipt. So long as we get the registered agent to sign for these things, I feel a lot more comfortable about proceeding. Giving Triad an extension of time to answer also makes us look good. Parenthetically, unfortunately, given Triad's attitude, I think it likely that after we get an arbitration award, Triad will choose not to abide by it until, at a minimum, we file a lawsuit in Maryland to have the award enforced. I don't see a way around that problem. Let me know if it is okay to ask for the extension of time. Britt Thanks. Britt
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