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

Case 1:05-cv-00179-TCW

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS

SWANSON GROUP, INC., Plaintiff, v. THE UNITED STATES,

Defendant.

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Case No. 05-179C (Judge Wheeler)

JOINT STATUS REPORT Pursuant to the Court's Order entered October 3, 2006, the parties submit their joint status report. On October 3, 2006, the Court granted the parties' motion to hold this case in abeyance to allow them to focus their resources on Scott Timber, Co. v. United States, 05-708C ("Scott Timber"). In the intervening months, the parties completed extensive discovery in Scott Timber. Additionally, on March 26, 2007, Senior Judge Smith, of this Court, entered a decision in Swanson Group, Inc. v. United States, 05-170C, resolving the issue of liability in that case against the Government. With respect to this case, the parties have begun preliminary settlement discussions, which have the possibility of resolving this case without further litigation. The parties anticipate that they will know whether a mutually agreeable settlement can be reached by the end of May, 2007. Accordingly, the parties request that discovery in this case be stayed through May 30, 2007 while the parties pursue settlement discussions. The parties will file a joint status report with the Court on or before June 8, 2007 informing the Court of their settlement progress and, if

Case 1:05-cv-00179-TCW

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settlement is not likely, recommending a schedule within which to complete discovery. Respectfully submitted,

s/Gary G. Stevens SALTMAN & STEVENS P.C. 1801 K Street, N.W. Suite M110 Washington, D.C. 20006 (202) 452-2140 Counsel for Plaintiff PETER D. KEISLER Assistant Attorney General JEANNE E. DAVIDSON Director s/Kathryn A. Bleecker KATHRYN A. BLEECKER Assistant Director OF COUNSEL: Marcus Wah USDA-OCG, Pacific Region s/Joan M. Stentiford JOAN M. STENTIFORD Trial Attorney Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Attn: Classification Unit, 8th Floor 1100 L Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530 Phone: (202) 616-0341 Fax: (202) 514-8624 Counsel for Defendant

May 4, 2007

Case 1:05-cv-00179-TCW

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CERTIFICATE OF FILING I hereby certify that on this 4th day of May, 2007, 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.

s/ Joan M. Stentiford