Subject: Re: ENA v. Triad
From: [email-masked]
To: [email-masked]
Cc: [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2001 01:17:00 -0800 (PST)

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