Alan L. Balaran to Justice Attorney Phil Seligman (June 27, 2003).


*107 B. The March and April 2003 Monthly Reports of the Special Master
On April 1, 2003, the Special Master filed the Monthly Report of the Special Master, attaching his invoice for services rendered during March 2003. That invoice included 4 entries for work performed by "MSS" (Mike S. Smith) during the month of February and 61 entries for work performed during March 2003. The descriptions accompanying those entries reveal that, between February 27, 2003 and March 31, 2003, MSS reviewed Eighth Quarterly Report ("8QR") documents, chronology reports, the TAAMS template, the Records Management Template, and the probate backlog template, and he also compiled appraisal information. One of the entries reveals that, on February 27, 2003, MSS "Reviewed fileswith Mike Smith regarding work objectives."
Interior filed no objections to the March 2003 monthly report, did not ask the Special Master to identify "MSS," did not question the Special Master's possession of NAID "documents, memoranda and e-mails," and did not question the content of the time entries of MSS and the Special Master that indicated a full months work evaluating documents Interior had not yet provided.
On April 21, 2003, the Special Master submitted his Interim Report to the Court and the parties. Footnote 1 of the Interim Report explains that the Master labeled the report "Interim" as opposed to "Final" because, at the time the report issued, he had "not [ ] received the bulk of the discovery he has repeatedly requested, [and was] constrained to utilize documentation