Free Joint Status Report - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:07-cv-00194-FMA

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS JOHN ANDERSON FARMS, INC., et al. Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 07-194C (Judge Allegra)

JOINT STATUS REPORT The parties submit this joint status report in response to the Court's Order dated August 8, 2008. In that Order, the Court noted that this case and all cases consolidated under this caption have been stayed pending resolution of the appeal in Klamath Irr. Dist. v. United States, No. 01-59L (Fed.Cir. No. 2007-5115) and that, on July 16, 2008, the appellate court in Klamath certified questions of Oregon state law to the Oregon Supreme Court. Klamath Irr. Dist. v. United States, 532 F.3d 1376 (Fed. Cir. 2008). This Court directed the parties to address the impact, if any, of the Federal Circuit's order on this case and all cases consolidated under this caption. The parties have conferred and agree that the certification of questions of law to the Oregon Supreme Court in Klamath does not have an impact upon the appropriateness of continuing the stay of these cases pending ultimate resolution of Klamath by the Federal Circuit. The parties request that the Court continue the stay currently in effect.

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In Klamath, as in this case, plaintiffs have alleged claims based upon breach of contract and Takings. In its certification order, the Court of Appeals identified three questions regarding a Takings issue that it certified to the Oregon Supreme Court. Klamath, 532 F.3d at 1377-78. In so doing, the court explained that it "believes that the Oregon Supreme Court would be in a better position than would this court to issue a pronouncement on the proper interpretation of the [Oregon] law at issue." Id. at 1377. To our knowledge, the Oregon Supreme Court has not yet acted upon the certified questions. Once the Oregon Supreme Court has addressed the matters certified to it, presumably, the Federal Circuit will address the pending Klamath appeal. The parties continue to believe that a stay of this case and the cases consolidated under this caption pending the disposition of the Klamath appeal will conserve the resources of the Court and the parties and help to insure that the efforts of the Court and the parties are not duplicative of matters that may be resolved or influenced by the Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit's consideration of Klamath. The parties respectfully request that the Court continue the stay of proceedings in this case and the cases consolidated under this caption pending disposition of the appeal in Klamath. We further request that the parties be

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permitted to file a status report with the Court within thirty days following the final disposition of Klamath on appeal.

Respectfully submitted, GREGORY G. KATSAS Assistant Attorney General s/ Alan Saltman ALAN SALTMAN Saltman & Stevens, P.C. Suite M-110 1801 K Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006 (202) 452-2140 s/ Jeanne E. Davidson by Bryant G. Snee JEANNE E. DAVIDSON Director

s/ Kirk T. Manhardt KIRK T. MANHARDT Assistant Director Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division Department of Justice 1100 L Street, N.W. Attn: Classification Unit 8th Floor Washington, DC 20530 Tel. (202) 353-0541 Fax (202) 514-8640 Attorneys for Defendant. September 5, 2008

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CERTIFICATE OF FILING I hereby certify that on this 5th day of September 2008, a copy of the foregoing "JOINT STATUS REPORT" was filed electronically. I understand that notice of this filing will be sent to all parties by operation of the Court's electronic filing system. Parties may access this filing through the Court's system.

s/ Kirk Manhardt