A dispute has erupted over a request to resume discovery in a federal class action suit targeting Wilmington Trust Co.’s concealment of disastrous loan portfolio weaknesses, with parties in a related criminal case joining in.
An attorney for former Wilmington Trust President Robert V.A. Harra Jr. said in a letter to U.S. District Court Judge Sue L. Robinson that the court should partially lift a freeze on discovery in the civil case, saying evidence and testimony in the proceeding could be jeopardized by a stretched out criminal trial.
“Individuals’ memories can fade over time, and to the extent relevant evidence in this case will be based upon, or contradicted by, the sworn recollection of witnesses, the interests of justice favor allowing depositions and other discovery to proceed,” Harra attorney Michael P. Kelly of McCarter & English wrote.
Kelly said the civil case, filed in 2010, should not wait any longer for the criminal action, which is now slated for trial in January 2017.
Robert V.A. Harra Jr. is represented by Michael P. Kelly of McCarter & English.