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

Case 1:05-cv-00374-EGB

Document 15

Filed 03/01/2006

Page 1 of 3

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS ____________________________________ LL&E MINING, INC., ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ) THE UNITED STATES, ) ) Defendant. ) ____________________________________)

No. 05-374C Judge Bruggink

JOINT STATUS REPORT Pursuant to the Court's Order of December 1, 2005, LL&E Mining, Inc. ("LL&E") submits this Joint Status Report on behalf of itself and the United States. Counsel for the United States has reviewed this document and concurs in its being submitted. In its December 1 Order, the Court granted LL&E's unopposed motion for a stay of this matter pending resolution of motions for summary judgment that had been or were to be submitted in numerous other, analogous cases. The Court directed the parties to submit Joint Status Reports every 120 days, commencing on March 1, 2006, reporting on the status of those cases as well as on settlement discussions between the parties in this case. This matter is one of over 25 similar cases involving challenges to the method by which the United States calculated periodic price adjustments regarding the sale of jet fuel to the Federal Government. With cases dating back to 1995, the commencement of this case in March of 2005 makes it one of the newest cases to be filed. Upon entering this matter as substituted counsel for LL&E, in mid-September 2005, LL&E's counsel initiated discussions with counsel for the United States to explore the possibility of settlement. The United States expressed a willingness to undertake such discussions. Since

DC\211800.1

Case 1:05-cv-00374-EGB

Document 15

Filed 03/01/2006

Page 2 of 3

December, counsel for the parties have discussed settlement in general terms and expect to focus more attention upon the matter over the next three months. The United States has submitted dispositive motions in at least seven of the pending analogous jet fuel matters. In addition to the dispositive motion expected in the Tesoro Alaska & Tesoro Hawaii matter pending this Court, there are several additional matters where similar motions will be submitted. Some 13 cases are stayed in a manner similar to this case. No member of the Court has ruled on any of the pending dispositive motions, with most being in various stages of briefing. The outcome of the motions on these more advanced cases is likely to dramatically shape how this matter proceeds, if it is not resolved informally in the interim. Undersigned counsel and counsel for the United States continue to be of the view that it would be a better usage of time and resources for the parties, and would conserve the resources of the Court, if they (i) endeavor to resolve this matter informally and (ii) await the outcome regarding the fundamental legal issues in cases more mature than this one prior to delving full force into this case through the submission of a responsive pleading or a motion for summary judgment, or by commencing discovery. Counsel will submit a status report within 120 days if this matter is not sooner resolved. Respectfully submitted, /s/ Anthony H. Anikeeff Anthony H. Anikeeff Bracewell & Giuliani LLP 2000 K Street, NW, Suite 500 Washington, D.C. 20006-1782 Tel: (202) 828-5800 Fax: (202) 857-2142 Attorney for LL&E Mining, Inc.

Dated: March 1, 2006

2

Case 1:05-cv-00374-EGB

Document 15

Filed 03/01/2006

Page 3 of 3

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on March 1, 2006, 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.

Steven J. Gillingham, Esq. Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division United States Department of Justice 1100 l Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530

___/s/ Anthony H. Anikeeff__

3