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 status report pursuant to the Court's March 3, 2006 order, setting forth the status of settlement discussions including a discussion of the dates we have met, the individuals present, and the progress made. As set forth in our previous status report, the parties are in the process of attempting to resolve this matter without further involvement of the Court. Since the filing of our

previous status report, the parties have held numerous telephone conversations to discuss possible settlement. Set forth below

are the settlement discussions between counsel where substantive matters were discussed. On March 10, 2006, counsel for defendant, David Stinson, spoke via telephone with counsel for plaintiffs, Alan Kaufman, and discussed general parameters for possible settlement, as well as factual issues raised by plaintiffs' complaint relevant to a possible settlement.

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On March 16, 2006, Messrs. Stinson and Kaufman, and Patricia Armstrong, counsel for the Department of the Interior, held a telephonic conference to discuss factual issues relevant to a possible settlement. On March 23, 2006, Messrs. Stinson and Kaufman held additional discussions telephonically, regarding factual issues discussed during the March 16, 2006 conference. On March 27, 2006, Messrs. Stinson and Kaufman held a telephonic settlement conference during which Mr. Kaufman set forth a settlement offer to defendant. On March 28, 2006, Messrs. Stinson and Kaufman held additional telephonic discussions regarding clarification of plaintiffs' offer and factual issues regarding the offer. On April 7, 2006, Messrs. Stinson and Kaufman held a telephonic conference wherein general parameters of a possible counter-settlement offer by defendant were discussed. On April 12, 2006, Messrs. Stinson and Kaufman, and Ms. Armstrong, held a telephonic conference wherein the Government provided details of its counter-settlement offer to plaintiffs. Additional discussions are anticipated. The parties respectfully request that all proceedings continue to be stayed for an additional period of 45 days to allow the parties sufficient time to concentrate upon possible resolution of this case. If the parties have not resolved this

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matter within 45 days from the date of the order granting a stay of proceedings, the parties request permission to file a joint status report with the Court every 45 days, until resolution of the case or until the stay of proceedings is lifted.

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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

APRIL 14, 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 April 14, 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