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

Case 1:99-cv-00516-FMA

Document 64

Filed 06/13/2005

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS ______________ No. 99-516 T (Judge Allegra) JIM WALTER RESOURCES, INC., Plaintiff v. THE UNITED STATES, Defendant ______________ JOINT STATUS REPORT ______________ Pursuant to the Court's Order of June 5, 2002, the parties submit this Joint Status Report on the status of this case. This document is being filed electronically. As reported in the Joint Status Report of September 3, 2002, and at the hearing of November 27, 2002, the parties decided to permit the IRS to determine the amount of BLET to be refunded to plaintiff according to the administrative procedures noted in Judge Firestone's Order of October 11, 2002. It was anticipated that the parties would enter a stipulation for judgment, assuming they could agree upon the principal amount of BLET to be refunded to plaintiff. The parties further agreed to suspend discovery and trial preparation during the pendency of this audit. On or about September 6, 2002, the IRS completed its audit. The plaintiff agreed with the IRS's proposed refund ($8,977,708.28) and asked the defendant to stipulate to entry of judgment in that amount. The parties later agreed that the eventual stipulation would recite that: (1) the judgment is to be paid without interest, (2) both parties reserve the right to appeal, and

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Case 1:99-cv-00516-FMA

Document 64

Filed 06/13/2005

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(3) the parties will bear their respective costs, including any possible attorneys' fees or other expenses of the litigation. Specifically, plaintiff has reserved the right to appeal the denial of pre-judgment and post-judgment interest with respect to the BLET that is ultimately refunded to it. Defendant has reserved the right to appeal the denial of its Protective Motion for Partial Dismissal or Partial Summary Judgment, which addresses the question whether Cyprus Amax Coal Co. v. United States, 205 F.3d 1369 (Fed. Cir. 2000), cert. denied, 532 U.S. 1065 (2001), was correctly decided. In the meanwhile, the Justice Department decided to raise a jurisdictional issue that would affect the recovery due for the first quarter in suit. The parties have begun negotiations on the subject, and the plaintiff is still deciding whether to submit an amended offer. If such an offer is made, the Justice Department's Office of Review will determine whether to accept the request for stipulation of judgment and will notify plaintiff of its decision. If the request for stipulation is accepted, the parties will file with this Court a stipulation for entry of judgment and will request that a final order be entered on that stipulation. Either party may appeal that order in accordance with its reserved appeal rights. The parties note that on September 17, 2004, the plaintiffs in a similar case, Clintwood Elkhorn Mining Co. et al. v. United States, Fed. Cl. No. 00-249 T, filed a notice of appeal. On September 28, the defendant filed a protective notice of cross-appeal. The Clintwood case will potentially bring all unresolved issues to the attention of the Federal Circuit.

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Case 1:99-cv-00516-FMA

Document 64

Filed 06/13/2005

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The plaintiff's attorney has authorized the defendant's trial attorney to submit this document as a joint filing. Respectfully submitted, s/Robert Stoddart ROBERT STODDART Attorney of Record U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division Court of Federal Claims Section Post Office Box 26 Ben Franklin Station Washington, D.C. 20044 TEL: (202) 307-6445 FAX: (202) 514-9440 [email protected] EILEEN J. O'CONNOR Assistant Attorney General MILDRED L. SEIDMAN Chief, Court of Federal Claims Section Of Counsel June 13, 2005

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