Free Motion for Referral to ADR - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:92-cv-00675-ECH

Document 317

Filed 01/04/2008

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS ) ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) ) THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) ) Defendant. ) __________________________________________) CHIPPEWA CREE TRIBE OF THE ROCKY BOY'S RESERVATION, et al.,

No. 92-675 L Judge Emily C. Hewitt January 4, 2008

JOINT MOTION TO CONTINUE ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEEDINGS BEFORE JUDGE BRUGGINK Pursuant to the Court's Order dated November 9, 2007 (Doc. # 310) requiring the parties to advise the Court by motion on or before January 4, 2008 that further Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR") proceedings are or are not requested, the parties hereby jointly move to continue ADR proceedings before Settlement Judge Eric G. Bruggink as follows. I. BACKGROUND The Plaintiff Group, consisting of the beneficiaries of the 1964 and 1980 Pembina Judgment Fund ("PJF") Awards and their heirs, descendants, and successors-in-interest, and the Defendant, the United States of America, continue to be engaged in settlement negotiations with the objective of resolving Plaintiffs' PJF trust management claims. II. PRIOR ORDERS Following a discussion of the desirability of further ADR proceedings during the November 16, 2007 telephonic status conference, the Court entered an Order on November 19, 2007 expanding the scope of ADR proceedings assigned to Judge Bruggink (Doc. # 313). The November 19, 2007

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Case 1:92-cv-00675-ECH

Document 317

Filed 01/04/2008

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Order (Doc. # 313) provided that: "With the agreement of . . . Judge Eric G. Bruggink, issues relating to the 1980 Award Phase II (May 27, 1988 - September 30, 1992) will be addressed as part of the ongoing ADR process covering the 1964 Award and the 1980 Award Phase I." The November 19, 2007 Order further provided that "Issues relating to the 1980 Award Phases III and IV will continue to be addressed in discovery proceedings before the Court." (Doc. #313 ). III. STATUS OF ADR PROCEEDINGS Pursuant to the November 19, 2007 Order referring issues relating to the 1980 Award Phase II to ADR proceedings, the parties have been in communication with Judge Bruggink's chambers and are presently scheduled to attend an ADR session on the 1980 Award Phase II issues before Judge Bruggink on February 12, 2008. The next ADR session on the 1964 Award and 1980 Award Phase I issues is tentatively scheduled for the week of March 10, 2008. IV. REQUEST TO CONTINUE ADR PROCEEDINGS BEFORE JUDGE BRUGGINK The parties agree that, with Judge Bruggink's assistance, they have made significant progress in addressing issues relating to the 1964 Award and 1980 Award Phase I, and they anticipate making similar strides on the 1980 Award Phase II issues referred to ADR by the November 19, 2007 Order. The parties therefore jointly move to continue ADR proceedings on the 1964 Award and the1980 Award, Phases I and II. The parties also agree that referral of additional claims for ADR proceedings before Judge Bruggink is desirable at the appropriate juncture.1

The United States continues to urge the referral of all remaining unresolved claims to Judge Bruggink at this time. Plaintiffs maintain that such referral is premature at this time and would qualify the request for referral of additional claims to ADR proceedings with the Court's caveat in making the original referral, unless and until "the ADR proceedings do not appear to be of assistance in resolving . . . this case." Order ¶ 2(c) (Aug. 2, 2007) (Doc. # 298) -2-

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Case 1:92-cv-00675-ECH

Document 317

Filed 01/04/2008

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Respectfully submitted on this 4th day of January, 2008, /s/ Melody L. McCoy MELODY L. MCCOY Attorney of Record for Plaintiffs Native American Rights Fund 1506 Broadway Boulder, CO 80302 Tel: (303) 447-8760 Fax (303) 443-7776 /s/ Carol L. Draper CAROL L. DRAPER Attorney of Record for Defendant United States Department of Justice Environment & Natural Resources Division Natural Resources Section P.O. Box 663 Washington, D.C. 20044-0663 Tel: (202) 305-0465 Fax: (202) 353-2021 Of Counsel: Elisabeth C. Brandon Department of the Interior Office of the Solicitor Teresa E. Dawson Department of the Treasury Office of Chief Counsel Financial Management Service

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