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

Case 1:05-cv-00982-LMB

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS

SLUSCA, LLC, by and through WILLIAM B. GUZY, A Partner Other Than The Tax Matters Partner, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Defendant.

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No. 05-982 T Judge Lawrence M. Baskir

MOTION TO STAY PROCEEDINGS PENDING DECISION IN JADE TRADING, LLC, et al. v. UNITED STATES Plaintiff, SLUSCA, LLC ("SLUSCA" or "Plaintiff"), respectfully moves this Court for a stay of proceedings pending the forthcoming decision in Jade Trading, LLC, et al. v. United States, Fed. Cl. No. 03-2164T. In support of its motion, Plaintiff states: 1. Plaintiff filed its complaint on September 12, 2005. Defendant filed its answer on

February 24, 2006. 2. Pursuant to ¶ 4 of Appendix A of the Rules of the United States Court of Federal

Claims and the Special Procedures Order entered on November 9, 2005, the parties' joint preliminary status report is due April 10, 2006.1 3. Jade Trading, LLC, et al. v. United States, No. 03-2164T is currently pending in

this Court before Judge Mary Ellen Coster Williams. A trial was held in Jade Trading in

The disposition of this motion will determine whether it will be necessary for the parties to file a motion for enlargement of time to file the joint preliminary status report. 1

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September 2005 and a decision is forthcoming. This case and Jade Trading involve certain common issues of law. 4. Staying this case pending the decision in Jade Trading serves judicial economy.

See Haustechnik v. United States, 34 Fed. Cl. 740, 745 (1996) (staying proceedings pending outcome of a German suit because it served, inter alia, judicial economy); Northrop Corp. v. United States, 27 Fed. Cl. 795, 803-805 (1993) (continuing stay because it promoted, inter alia, judicial economy). The decision in Jade Trading is very relevant to the legal issues in this case and this Court will give great deference to the decision in Jade Trading. 5. Moreover, because the cases contain certain factual similarities, staying this case

should reduce discovery with respect to certain issues. See Northrop, 27 Fed. Cl. at 803-805; see also Corning Glass Works v. United States, 220 Ct. Cl. 605, 605 (1979) (granting a stay in order "to serve the interest of judicial economy and to avoid duplicative discovery proceedings."). The parties in Jade Trading have exhaustively addressed factual and legal issues before the Court in this case. To proceed with this action prior to the decision in Jade Trading will result in a duplication of efforts and increased cost to the government, Plaintiff, and this Court. See Far West Federal Bank, 930 F.2d 883, 891 (Fed. Cir. 1991) ("In today's climate of burgeoning litigation and strained resources, duplication of litigation serves no congressional purpose; it squanders judicial, governmental, and private resources."). 6. to this motion. Defendant has no objection to the requested motion to stay but will file a response

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WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully moves this Court to enter an Order staying proceedings pending the decision in Jade Trading, LLC, et al. v. United States. Dated this 16th day of March, 2006.

Respectfully submitted, SLUSCA, LLC

By:

s/Thomas P. Fitzgerald Thomas P. Fitzgerald Attorney of Record WINSTON & STRAWN LLP 35 West Wacker Drive Chicago, Illinois 60601 (312) 558-5845 tel. (312) 558-5700 fax

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I certify that service of the foregoing document was made on this 16th day of March, 2006, by electronically filing a copy with the Court under the CM/ECF system with notification of such filing to opposing counsel, David R. House, Esquire, and by mailing a copy thereof, in a postage prepaid envelope, to the tax matters partner at the following address: KSHER AA, LLC 20 Dayton Avenue Greenwich, CT 06830

s/Karen M. Kowalski Karen M. Kowalski WINSTON & STRAWN LLP 35 West Wacker Drive Chicago, Illinois 60601 (312) 558-7564 tel. (312) 558-5700 fax