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

Case 1:06-cv-00186-LB

Document 20

Filed 02/01/2007

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS FIDELITY AND DEPOSIT COMPANY OF MARYLAND, Plaintiff, v. THE UNITED STATES, Defendant. ) ) ) ) No. 06-186C ) (Judge Block) ) ) ) ) )

DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR A STAY OF PROCEEDINGS Plaintiff, Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland ("Fidelity"), and defendant, the United States, respectfully request that the Court stay proceedings in this case for a period of 42 days,1 to and including March 16, 2007. This is the first request for a stay of this case. On March 10, 2006, Fidelity filed a complaint asserting an equitable subrogation claim. The Government filed a motion for summary judgment on June 23, 2006. On September 21, 2006, Fidelity filed its opposition to the motion. Defendant's reply is due February 2, 2007. Based upon preliminary discussions, the parties believe that this matter may be appropriate for settlement. Accordingly, staying this litigation to give the parties an opportunity to explore the possibility of resolving this matter without further briefing and formal discovery will conserve the parties' and this Court's resources, and pursuant to Rule 1(a)(2) of the Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims, promote the "just, speedy, and inexpensive determination" of this action.

The 42 days is calculated from February 2, 2007, the date defendant's reply to "Plaintiff's Brief In Opposition To Defendant's Motion For Summary Judgment," "Plaintiff's Response To Defendant's Proposed Findings of Uncontroverted Fact," and response to "Plaintiff's Additional Proposed Findings of [Un]controverted Fact" is due.

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Case 1:06-cv-00186-LB

Document 20

Filed 02/01/2007

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The parties propose that they submit a joint status report no later than March 16, 2007, informing the Court of their progress and the need, if any, for further briefing. For the foregoing reasons, plaintiff and defendant respectfully request that the Court stay proceedings in this case for a period of 42 days, to and including March 16, 2007.

Respectfully submitted, PETER D. KEISLER Assistant Attorney General DAVID M. COHEN Director

/s/ Donald E. Kinner DONALD E. KINNER Assistant Director

Christopher J. Brasco CHRISTOPHER J. BRASCO Watt, Tieder, Hoffar & Fitzgerald, LLP 8405 Greensboro Drive, Suite 100 McLean, VA 22102 Tel: (703) 749-1000 Fax: (703) 893-8029 Attorney for Plaintiff

/s/ Elizabeth Thomas ELIZABETH THOMAS Trial Attorney Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division Department of Justice Attn: Classification Unit 8th Floor 1100 L Street Washington, D.C. 20530 tel: (202) 353-4175 fax: (202) 307-0972 Attorneys for Defendant

February 1, 2007

Case 1:06-cv-00186-LB

Document 20

Filed 02/01/2007

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on February 1, 2007 a copy of the foregoing DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR A STAY OF PROCEEDINGS" was filed electronically. I understand that the notice of 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/ Elizabeth Thomas