Free Status Report - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:01-cv-00201-VJW

Document 234

Filed 02/02/2007

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) ) THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) ) Defendant. ) _________________________________________ ) CAROL AND ROBERT TESTWUIDE, et. al.,

No. 01-201L

Judge Victor J. Wolski

DEFENDANT UNITED STATES' STATUS REPORT REGARDING THE PROGRESS OF THE TENTATIVE SETTLEMENT Pursuant to this Court's order on October 19, 2006, the United States provides the following status report concerning the tentative settlement.1 Regrettably, and as more fully discussed in defendant's Motion to Withhold Review of Plaintiffs' Status Report, to Order Plaintiffs Not to Disclose Terms of Settlement Discussions and to Refer the Settlement Negotiations to a Mediation Judge, the parties have not been able to reach an agreement. The parties have met to attempt to negotiate their differences as recently as January 26, 2007, and have exchanged offers over the phone since that meeting. Unfortunately, the parties have been unable to resolve their differences, resulting in an impasse in settlement discussions. In its motion, defendant seeks to have the currently stalemated settlement negotiations referred to a mediation judge in an effort to resolve the parties' differences.

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The Court ordered the parties to jointly submit a status report; however, plaintiffs intend to file a status report that reveals confidential settlement communications. Defendant moved in a separate motion, also filed today, that requests that this Court withhold review of the contents of plaintiffs' status report pending the Court's ruling on defendant's motion.

Case 1:01-cv-00201-VJW

Document 234

Filed 02/02/2007

Page 2 of 2

Dated: February 2, 2007

Respectfully submitted, /s/ Steven D. Bryant Steven D. Bryant Kelle S. Acock Environmental & Natural Resources Division United States Department of Justice 601 D Street, NW, Rm. 3205 Washington, D.C. 20004 Counsel for Defendants 202-305-0424 Of Counsel: Robert J. Smith Mary Raivel Navy Litigation Office 720 Kennon Street Washington Navy Yard, D.C. 20374 CDR Dominick Yacono JAGC, USN Commander Navy region Mid-Atlanic, Code (00LE) 1510 Gilbert Street Norfolk, VA 23511-2737

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