Contract analysis

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY We are pleased to present this Quarterly Status Report covering the period from October 1 through December 31, 2024 (the "Reporting Period" or "Q4 2024") in connection with the above-captioned matter. This report provides a comprehensive summary of significant developments during Q4 2024, the current procedural posture of the litigation, the status of discovery and expert work, a detailed financi

II. CASE BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL POSTURE A. Summary of the Dispute This litigation arises from NFA's termination for cause, effective April 1, 2024, of the Master Construction Agreement dated March 15, 2020 (the "MCA"), under which Meridian was engaged as general contractor for the design, engineering, permitting, and construction of NFA's fiber-optic network build-out across the northeastern United States. The MCA

III. DISCOVERY — Q4 2024 DEVELOPMENTS A. Document Productions

1. Northgate's Production During Q4 2024, NFA completed its document production in accordance with the discovery schedule established at the October 1, 2024 Preliminary Conference. NFA produced documents from ten custodians, consisting of the following individuals:

1. Renata Voss — Vice President, US Network Infrastructure, NFA

2. Sean Calloway — Director, Construction Management, NFA

3. Helena Bright — Chief Financial Officer, Northgate Telecommunications PLC

4. Dominic Hale — General Counsel, Northgate Telecommunications PLC

5. Thomas Kearney — Senior Vice President, US Operations, NFA

6. Jennifer Liu — Director, Procurement and Contracts, NFA

7. David Osborne — Manager, Quality Assurance, NFA

8. Philip Strand — Senior Project Manager, NFA

9. Michelle Cortez — Vice President, Finance, NFA

10. Robert Tanaka — Director, Engineering, NFA In total, NFA produced approximately 1.4 million documents comprising 3.2 terabytes of data. The production was completed on a rolling basis through October and November 2024, with the final rolling production delivered on November 15, 2024. The production encompassed the following key document categories: • The MCA and all amendments thereto (Amendments 1 through 6) • M

2. Meridian's Production Meridian produced approximately 890,000 documents comprising 1.8 terabytes of data from eight custodians. The Meridian custodians included the following individuals, among others:

1. Victor Sandoval — Chief Executive Officer and Managing Member, Meridian

2. Bridget Yeung — Chief Operating Officer, Meridian

3. Marcus Henley — Vice President, Field Operations, Northeast Division, Meridian

4. Carlos Rivera — Vice President, Estimating and Preconstruction, Meridian

5. Angela Wu — Director, Project Controls, Meridian

6. James Marchetti — Site Superintendent, Phase 2, Meridian

7. Diane Kowalski — Director, Subcontractor Relations, Meridian

8. Nathan Brooks — Chief Financial Officer, Meridian Meridian withheld 187 documents under a claimed "common interest privilege" covering communications between Meridian and Ridgepoint Capital Group LP, Meridian's majority equity investor. As discussed in Section V below, we have challenged this privilege designation on the grounds that Ridgepoint's interest is financial rather than legal, that no joint defense agree

3. Third-Party Subpoenas During Q4 2024, we issued non-party subpoenas for documents to the following entities: Subcontractors (7):

1. Apex Boring Solutions LLC (horizontal directional drilling)

2. Summit Fiber Installations Inc. (fiber splicing and testing)

3. Trident Underground Services Corp. (underground conduit installation)

4. Northeast Permitting Associates Inc. (permitting support)

5. Galway Traffic Control LLC (traffic management and flagging)

6. Harbor Environmental Consultants Inc. (environmental compliance)

7. Precision Surveying & Mapping LLC (route survey and as-built documentation) Municipal Permitting Authorities (3):

1. New York City Department of Transportation, Office of Construction Mitigation and Coordination

2. Maryland State Highway Administration, Utility Permits Division

3. Virginia Department of Transportation, Land Use Permit Office As of the close of the Reporting Period, the majority of the subcontractors have produced responsive documents. The subcontractor productions are particularly valuable because they corroborate NFA's position in two key respects. First, several subcontractor records document the crew shortage issues that plagued Meridian's operations, including communica

IV. DEPOSITIONS — Q4 2024 A. Completed Depositions We completed four fact depositions during Q4 2024. Two of these depositions involved defense witnesses (NFA personnel whose testimony was sought by Meridian), and two involved key Meridian witnesses whose cross-examination by Calderwood & Harkness yielded important admissions favorable to Northgate's defense and counterclaim positions. A summary of each deposition fo

1. Renata Voss (NFA Vice President, US Network Infrastructure) — November 12–13, 2024 Ms. Voss was deposed over two days at Calderwood & Harkness's offices, 425 Park Avenue, New York, by Thomas Deluca of Hargrove, Deluca & Stein LLP. Linda Osei defended the deposition. Topics Covered. Meridian's counsel examined Ms. Voss on a wide range of subjects, including her role in overseeing the fiber build-out program, the pr

2. Sean Calloway (NFA Director, Construction Management) — November 19, 2024 Mr. Calloway was deposed over one day at Calderwood & Harkness's offices by Miriam Vasquez of HDS. Jeffrey Park defended the deposition. Topics Covered. Ms. Vasquez examined Mr. Calloway on day-to-day contract administration under the MCA, the NCR documentation process from identification through disposition, the milestone certification and

3. Marcus Henley (Meridian Vice President, Field Operations, Northeast Division) — December 3–4, 2024 Mr. Henley was deposed over two days at the offices of Hargrove, Deluca & Stein LLP, 375 Lexington Avenue, New York. Jeffrey Park conducted the cross-examination on behalf of NFA, with Linda Osei attending on the second day. Key Admissions Obtained. Mr. Henley's deposition was the most productive of the Q4 2024 depos

4. Victor Sandoval (Meridian CEO and Managing Member) — December 10–11, 2024 Mr. Sandoval was deposed over two days at the offices of Hargrove, Deluca & Stein LLP. Linda Osei and Jeffrey Park conducted the cross-examination on behalf of NFA. Key Testimony. Mr. Sandoval's deposition was the most wide-ranging of the Q4 2024 depositions, covering Meridian's corporate structure and governance, the Ridgepoint Capital inve

1. Bridget Yeung (Meridian Chief Operating Officer) — February 4, 2025 The deposition of Bridget Yeung is scheduled for February 4, 2025 at the offices of HDS. Jeffrey Park will conduct the cross-examination on behalf of NFA. Ms. Yeung served as Meridian's Chief Operating Officer throughout the performance period under the MCA and had direct oversight responsibility for operational management, subcontractor selection

2. Helena Bright (Northgate Telecommunications PLC, CFO) — February 18, 2025 The deposition of Helena Bright is scheduled for February 18, 2025 by letters rogatory/commission at a venue in London, England, to be coordinated with Meridian's counsel. This deposition will be taken by Meridian's counsel, with Calderwood & Harkness defending. As Northgate Telecommunications PLC's Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Bright is exp

3. Dominic Hale (Northgate Telecommunications PLC, General Counsel) — February 25, 2025 Meridian noticed the deposition of Dominic Hale for February 25, 2025. On January 10, 2025, Calderwood & Harkness transmitted an objection letter to Thomas Deluca at HDS asserting that Mr. Hale's deposition is improper under the Shelton doctrine and related principles, which protect in-house counsel from deposition where the depos

4. Frank DiBello (Crestline Construction Group Inc., CEO) — March 4, 2025 A non-party subpoena is being served on Frank DiBello, Chief Executive Officer of Crestline Construction Group Inc. ("Crestline"), the replacement contractor engaged by NFA to complete the fiber build-out following termination of the Meridian MCA. The deposition is scheduled for March 4, 2025. Jeffrey Park is preparing a cross-examination outli

V. PRIVILEGE DISPUTES AND PENDING MOTIONS A. Meridian's Motion to Compel (Filed November 22, 2024) On November 22, 2024, Meridian filed a motion to compel the production of 214 documents identified on Northgate's privilege log. Meridian's motion argues that the 214 documents are not properly subject to the attorney-client privilege because they relate to "business decisions" about NFA's in-house fiber construction st

VI. EXPERT WORK A. Defense Construction/Delay Expert — Dr. Elinor Chazen (Lakeview Consulting Group LLC) Dr. Elinor Chazen of Lakeview Consulting Group LLC was retained on October 15, 2024 as Northgate's construction and delay expert. The engagement letter was executed on the same date. Dr. Chazen's offices are located at 200 South Wacker Drive, Suite 1400, Chicago, Illinois 60606. Dr. Chazen specializes in construct