Free Motion for Extension of Time to File Answer - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:06-cv-00945-FMA

Document 7

Filed 02/21/2007

Page 1 of 2

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS

NAVAJO NATION, f.k.a NAVAJO TRIBE OF INDIANS Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Defendants.

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Electronically Filed: February 21, 2007 No. 06-945L

DEFENDANT'S UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR ENLARGEMENT OF TIME TO FILE DEFENDANT'S ANSWER

Pursuant to Rule 6.1 of the Rules of the Court of Federal Claims ("RCFC"), Defendant respectfully submits this motion for a 45-day enlargement of time to and including April 13, 2007, within which to file Defendant's Answer. No previous enlargements of time for this purpose have been sought by the Government. The interests of both Parties will not be prejudiced by this enlargement of time. The grounds for the unopposed motion are as follows: 1. On February 6, 2007, Defendant's counsel was admitted to Fair Oaks Hospital in Fairfax, Virginia with extreme back pain, 104 degree temperature, and headache. During the following 5 days, Defendant's counsel underwent a battery of tests including CT scans after which he was diagnosed with a large kidney stone. Defendant's counsel is scheduled for a laser procedure to disintegrate the stone sometime after February 26, 2007. In the interim, Defendant's counsel has been instructed by his physician to substantially curtail his work

Case 1:06-cv-00945-FMA

Document 7

Filed 02/21/2007

Page 2 of 2

activities to 2-3 hours per day. Defendant's counsel's medical condition is likely to limit his regular regular work days through early April, 2007, and will thus impact preparation of an Answer or other response in the present case. 2. Counsel for Plaintiff and Defendant have had preliminary discussions regarding the conduct of this case and have agreed that an ADR proceeding would be most useful and expeditious in achieving a resolution of many if not all of the issues that would otherwise need to be tried to the Court. Thus, the Parties have agreed to prepare a Joint Motion for Referral to ADR to be filed with the Court. This filing will likely occur during the week of February 26, 2007. If their motion is granted the Parties anticipate selection of a settlement judge and the preparation of confidentiality documents on an expedited basis. 3. Defendant's counsel's request for enlargement of time to file an Answer will allow the Parties to focus on and prepare the aforenoted ADR documents and ultimately advance the cause of a fair resolution of this case. 4. Counsel for the Plaintiff does not oppose the Government's request for enlargement of time in this matter.

WHEREFORE, the Government respectfully requests that its unopposed motion be GRANTED. Respectfully submitted this 21st day of February, 2007. s/ Robert W. Rodrigues Robert W. Rodrigues Martin J. Lalonde Laura Maroldy E. Kenneth Stegeby United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division Natural Resources Section P.O. Box 663 Washington, D.C. 20044-0663 Telephone: (202) 353-8839