Free Motion to Stay - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:06-cv-00931-NBF

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS THE GROS VENTRE & ASSINIBOINE TRIBES BY AND THROUGH THE FORT BELKNAP INDIAN COMMUNITY COUNCIL, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE FORT BELKNAP INDIAN COMMUNITY OF THE FORT BELKNAP INDIAN RESERVATION Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Case No. 06-931L-NBF

JOINT MOTION FOR TEMPORARY STAY OF LITIGATION Pursuant to Rule 6.1 of the Rules of the Court of Federal Claims ("RCFC"), the parties hereby respectfully request that this Court issue a stay of the litigation of this case, effective immediately, for one year to and including March 20, 2008. The grounds for this joint motion are as follows: 1. Plaintiff filed this case on December 29, 2006. In the case, Plaintiff alleges issues

and claims relating to the trust accounting and trust management duties and responsibilities allegedly owed by Defendant to Plaintiff. 2. Defendant is presently obligated to file its Answer or otherwise respond to the

Complaint on or before March 20, 2007. 3. In February 2006, counsel for the parties conferred about this case, Plaintiff's

issues and claims, and possible means of resolving the dispute and settling the action, including the use of alternative dispute resolution. Among other things, the parties discussed and agreed to (a) explore the possibility of undertaking settlement discussions; (b) examine several

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activities, including informal requests and productions of relevant or potentially relevant documents and data, in exploration of and in preparation for settlement discussions; and (c) seek appropriate enlargements of time or temporary stays of litigation so that they could prepare for and engage in settlement discussions. 4. Further, counsel for the parties have discussed the fact that, at present, there is a

total of about 103 lawsuits pending in this Court and in various United States District Courts in the District of Columbia and in Oklahoma brought by Indian Tribes alleging claims regarding the trust accounting and trust management duties and responsibilities allegedly owed by Defendant to the Tribes. Among other issues, counsel have discussed Defendant's view regarding the burdens imposed by the 103 cases on the Departments of the Interior, the Treasury, and Justice, and the constraints that can arise as a result of the Departments' limited resources. Counsel have affirmed their commitment to explore and determine the possibility of settlement in this case as soon as is practicable. 5. The parties have agreed to confer over the next year to explore the possibility of

settlement, as well as the process by which the parties might resolve their dispute and obtain relevant or potentially relevant documents and data. Given that it will require significant time and effort to conclude such a discussion, counsel for the parties agreed that it would be appropriate to seek a temporary stay of the litigation in this case, to and including March 20, 2008, to permit an adequate opportunity for such a discussion. Also, counsel are agreed that within ten business days after expiration of the stay, and on or before March 27, 2008, they would inform the Court in writing of the outcome of their joint discussion and their proposal about whether and how to proceed with the case (e.g., litigation, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process, or continued informal settlement discussions, et cetera.)

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6.

Based on the foregoing, the parties hereby respectfully request that the Court

grant the following relief: a. 2008; b. c. Make the temporary stay effective immediately, Order that Defendant need not answer or otherwise respond to the allegations in the Complaint until after the stay in this matter has expired or been vacated and the Court has set a deadline by which the Defendant must file its Answer or otherwise respond; and d. Allow the parties ten (10) business days after the termination of the temporary stay (to and including March 27, 2008) within which to file a status report requesting either a continuation of the stay or proposing a deadline by which the defendant must plead or otherwise respond. 7. Counsel for Plaintiff has reviewed this joint motion and the proposed order and Temporarily stay the litigation of this case, to and including March 20,

authorizes Defendant's Attorney of Record to file the motion as a joint request. WHEREFORE, the parties respectfully request that their motion for temporary stay of litigation be GRANTED. Respectfully submitted this 16th day of March, 2007, MATTHEW J. MCKEOWN Acting Assistant Attorney General s/John H. Martin JOHN H. MARTIN, Attorney of Record United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division Natural Resources Section 1961 Stout Street, Eighth Floor

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on March 16th, 2007, I served the foregoing Joint Motion For Temporary Stay of Litigation by causing a full, true and correct copy thereof to be sent to the following persons by Electronic Service pursuant to General Order 42A:

James A Vogel, Attorney of Record for Plaintiff

Dated this 16th day of March 2007. /s/ John H. Martin John H. Martin United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division Natural Resources Section 1961 Stout Street, Eighth Floor Denver, CO 80294 (303) 844-1383 (tel) (303) 844-1350 (fax) [email protected] Attorney for Federal Defendants