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

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS ERNEST LONG, Et Al., Plaintiffs, v. THE UNITED STATES, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 05-143C (Chief Judge Damich)

JOINT STATUS REPORT Defendant, the United States, and plaintiffs Ernest Long, et al., respectfully submit the following joint status report pursuant to the Court's orders dated March 3, 2006, and July 18, 2006, setting forth the status of settlement discussions including a discussion of the dates we have met, the individuals present, and the progress made. In our previous joint status report, the parties informed the Court that (1) on July 14, 2006, counsel for defendant and agency counsel traveled to Albany, New York, for a settlement conference with counsel for plaintiff and (2) at that conference, the Government submitted its final counter-settlement proposal. Subsequent to that meeting, counsel for the plaintiffs on July 21, 2006, submitted to counsel for defendant and counsel for the agency a memorandum outlining terms of the potential settlement proposal. While the parties continue to believe that significant progress towards possible settlement has been made, additional time remains necessary to complete this process. Specifically,

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the agency is in the process of conducting a detailed review of plaintiffs' potential settlement proposal. Completion of the

agency's review was hampered somewhat because counsel for the agency was out of the office on long-scheduled leave from July 27, to August 8, following her July 29th wedding date. Currently, the agency is reviewing details of the potential settlement proposal's back pay component. Additional time is

necessary for the agency to determine the amount of any possible back pay award, as well as the mechanism by which such an award would be accomplished. The parties remain mindful of this Court's Special Procedures Order, and in particular paragraph 4.b, concerning stay of proceedings. Because the parties believe that

significant progress towards possible settlement has been made, and believe that a final determination regarding settlement will be made within the next 30 days, the parties respectfully request that all proceedings continue to be stayed for an additional period of 30 days to allow the parties sufficient time to concentrate upon possible resolution of this case and, if appropriate, obtain the necessary approval from Department of Justice officials. If the parties have not resolved this matter within 30 days from the date of the order granting a continued stay of proceedings, the parties request permission to file a joint

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status report on September 14, 2006, informing the Court regarding the parties' efforts towards settlement or recommending further proceedings. Respectfully submitted, PETER D. KEISLER Assistant Attorney General DAVID M. COHEN Director s/ Mark A. Melnick MARK A. MELNICK Assistant Director OF COUNSEL: PATRICIA ARMSTRONG Office of the Solicitor Department of the Interior s/ David B. Stinson DAVID B. STINSON Trial Attorney Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division Department of Justice Attn: Classification Unit 8th Floor, 1100 L St. Washington, D.C. 20530 Tele: (202) 307-0163 Fax: (202) 514-8624 Attorneys for Defendant

AUGUST 16, 2006

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s/ Robert A. Jones Robert A. Jones Chamberlain, Kaufman & Jones 35 Fuller Road Albany, New York 12205 Tele: (518) 435-9426 Fax: (518) 435-9102 Attorneys for Plaintiffs

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CERTIFICATE OF FILING I hereby certify that on August 16, 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. may access this filing through the Court's system. s/ David B. Stinson DAVID B. STINSON Parties