Free Order on Motion to Stay - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:03-cv-02673-EJD

Document 77

Filed 10/03/2007

Page 1 of 2

In the United States Court of Federal Claims
No. 03-2673 C (Filed: October 03, 2007) ************************************ ALLIED OIL & SUPPLY, INC. Plaintiff, v. THE UNITED STATES, Defendant, and WARREN DISTRIBUTION, INC., Third-Party Defendant. ************************************ ORDER Before the Court is a motion to stay proceedings filed by Third-Party Defendant Warren Distribution, Inc. ("Warren") on September 28, 2007. Warren seeks to extend the stay of proceedings until October 31, 2007, to provide more time for settlement activities. On August 24, 2007, Warren filed an unopposed motion to stay proceedings until September 28, 2007, stating that "additional time is needed to finalize the [settlement] agreement and obtain signatures of all parties and representatives." The Court granted Warren's motion on August 27, 2007. At 3:00 pm EDT on September 28, 2007, Warren filed another unopposed motion to stay proceedings, this time requesting a stay until October 31, 2007. The motion to stay gave an almost identical reason for the request - the parties are still "finalizing" the agreement and obtaining signatures. The present motion to stay is the sixth motion to extend the deadline for filing the joint proposed expert discovery schedule, whether by enlargement of time or stay of proceedings, since the parties met for mediation on April 11, 2007. Progress in this case has, in effect, been halted for settlement purposes for almost an entire year, dating back to Warren's October 20, 2006, motion for an extension of time. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Case 1:03-cv-02673-EJD

Document 77

Filed 10/03/2007

Page 2 of 2

First, the Court reminds the parties that, pursuant to the Special Procedures Order issued by the Court on December 9, 2003, "[r]equests for enlargements must be filed as early as possible, see RCFC 6(b), generally at least 5 business days in advance." Disregarding this order by filing a motion to extend a stay at 3:00 pm on the day a submission is due to the Court is unacceptable. The Court will GRANT Warren's present motion. However, absent a showing of extraordinary circumstances, the Court does not anticipate granting any further motions to postpone the deadline for a proposed expert discovery schedule. The Court orders that the parties submit on or before October 31, 2007, either a notification that the settlement agreement has been signed and finalized or the joint proposed expert discovery schedule. If the parties have not concluded their settlement process by October 31, 2007, they will proceed with expert discovery and may continue to conduct settlement activities on a parallel track.

s/ Edward J. Damich EDWARD J. DAMICH Chief Judge