Free Motion to Continue - District Court of Arizona - Arizona

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STRUCKMEYER & WILSON 910 E. Osborn Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85014 PHONE: (602) 248-9222 FAX: (602) 263-0464 Donald R. Wilson, 1239 Garvey M. Biggers, 9932 Thomas J. Cesta, 21453 Defendants Darrell Lee Ekdahl; Jane Doe Ekdahl; George Vanden Bossche; Karolyn Vanden Bossche; and Vandy's Transportation, Inc.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF ARIZONA ) ) ) ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) vs. ) ) Darrell Lee Ekdahl and Jane Doe Ekdahl, ) husband and wife; George Vanden Bossche ) and Karolyn Vanden Bossche, husband and ) wife; and Vandy's Transportation, Inc., a ) California corporation, ) ) Defendants. ) ____________________________________) Palma Baca Urrutia; Patricia Urrutia-Baca; Luis Javier Urrutia-Baca; Elizabeth UrrutiaBaca; Javier Arturo Urrutia-Arrieta; and Gloria Estela Sandate, NO. CV-03-1990-PHX-PGR JOINT MOTION TO CONTINUE STATUS CONFERENCE PRESENTLY SET FOR OCTOBER 2, 2006

(Expedited Ruling Requested) (Oral Argument Requested)

(Assigned to the Honorable Paul G. Rosenblatt)

Plaintiffs and defendants, by and through undersigned counsel, respectfully request that the Court continue the status conference for 30 days. The parties take this opportunity to inform the Court of the progress regarding DNA testing, and also the parties' intent to participate in mediation. Because the DNA testing is still proceeding,

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but is not completed, and because the parties will participate in mediation on October 19,

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Case 2:03-cv-01990-PGR

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2006, the parties request to continue the status conference until the parties obtain the results of the DNA testing and mediation has been conducted. DNA TESTING

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On August 21, 2006, the Court granted Defendants' Motion to Conduct DNA Testing in order to ascertain the identity of the decedents. However, the Maricopa County office of the Medical Examiner would not release the tissue samples until it possessed an Order specifically directing it to do so. Defendants filed a Motion to obtain this Order, which the Court granted.

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On September 21, 2006, Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner sent tissue samples to the DNA Diagnostic Center. The DNA Diagnostic Center received these samples on September 22, 2006, and began conducting viability testing on the samples. The viability testing will conclude by October 5, 2006, at the latest. The

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Plaintiffs are scheduled to provide their tissue samples on October 9, 2006. The comparison of the Plaintiff's samples with the samples of the decedents should be completed 14 business days later, or October 27, 2006. MEDIATION The parties have decided to participate in mediation. The parties have agreed on a

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mediator, and mediation will begin at 9:00 a.m. on October 19, 2006. CONCLUSION The Court indicated that its reason for conducting the status conference was to ensure that the DNA testing was proceeding without delay. However, the Court also indicated that if more time were needed, that the Court would allow additional time. The

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above discussion of the progress of the DNA testing should satisfy the Court that the DNA testing is proceeding as quickly as possible.
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Furthermore, the parties' desire to enter into mediation is a recent development in the case. Whether successful or not, the mediation may go a long way toward helping the parties resolve their differences and work amicably toward resolution of this complex

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case. WHEREFORE, the parties jointly request that the Court continue the status conference 30 days to allow time for the mediation to be conducted, and for the results of the DNA testing to be obtained. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 29th day of September, 2006.

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STRUCKMEYER AND WILSON

By s/ Tom Cesta Donald R. Wilson Garvey M. Biggers Thomas J. Cesta Attorneys for Defendants Darrell Lee Ekdahl; Jane Doe Ekdahl; George Vanden Bossche; Karolyn Vanden Bossche; and Vandy's Transportation, Inc.

AUGUSTINE B. JIMENEZ, P.C. By s/ Augustine B. Jimenez Augustine B. Jimenez Attorney for the Plaintiffs ORIGINAL of the foregoing filed and COPIES mailed/hand delivered(*) this 29th day of September, 2006 to: (*) The Honorable Paul G. Rosenblatt UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT Sandra Day O'Connor US Courthouse 401 W. Washington St. Phoenix, AZ 85003

By

s/ Tom Cesta
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Case 2:03-cv-01990-PGR

Document 176-2

Filed 09/29/2006

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