Witt v. Department of the Air Force et al

Filing 34

REPLY, filed by Defendants Department of the Air Force, Donald H Rumsfeld, Michael W Wynne, Mary L Walker, TO RESPONSE to 31 MOTION to Stay Discovery and for Relief from the Deadlines Imposed by the Court's Minute Order of April 13, 2006 (Phipps, Peter)

Witt v. Department of the Air Force et al

Doc. 34

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Judge Ronald B. Leighton

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT TACOMA MAJOR MARGARET WITT, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE, et al., Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. C06-5195 RBL DEFENDANTS' REPLY IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO STAY DISCOVERY AND FOR RELIEF FROM THE DEADLINES IMPOSED BY THE COURT'S MINUTE ORDER OF APRIL 13, 2006

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In responding to Defendants' Motion to Stay Discovery and for Relief from the Deadlines
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Imposed by the Court's Minute Order of April 13, 2006 (Docket #31), plaintiff states that she
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agrees not to seek discovery while the Court decides the pending motion to dismiss (Docket #24)
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and the motion for preliminary injunction (Docket #8) that are before it. (See Pl.'s Response to
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Defs.' Mot. to Stay Discovery, Docket #33.) Thus, it appears that the parties are presently in
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agreement that discovery need not occur before the Court rules on whether plaintiff states a cause
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of action. Beyond plaintiff's assurances, however an order staying discovery will relieve the
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parties of the requirements of the Court's April 13 Minute Order (Docket #4), which set certain
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dates for the completion of preliminary discovery matters. Because even preliminary discovery
28 ( C 0 6 - 5 1 9 5 -R B L ) DEFENDANTS' REPLY IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO STAY DISCOVERY AND FOR RELIEF FROM THE DEADLINES IMPOSED BY THE COURT'S MINUTE ORDER OF APRIL 13, 2006 - 1
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CIVIL DIVISION, FEDERAL PROGRAMS BRANCH P.O. BOX 883, BEN FRANKLIN STATION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20044 [phone]

Dockets.Justia.com

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at this point would be potentially wasteful, defendants request that the Court enter an order staying all discovery, including the initial Rule 26(f) conference, initial disclosures required under Rule 26(a), and the Rule 26(f) Joint Status report, pending resolution of Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint.

Dated: July 11, 2006

Respectfully submitted, PETER D. KEISLER Assistant Attorney General JOHN MCKAY United States Attorney VINCENT M. GARVEY Deputy Branch Director MARION J. MITTET Assistant United States Attorney

Of Counsel: MAJOR TRACEY ROCKENBACH AFLOA/JACL Military Personnel Litigation 1501 Wilson Blvd, 7th Floor Rosslyn, VA 22209-2403

/s/ PETER J. PHIPPS United States Department of Justice Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail] Mailing Address: Post Office Box 883, Ben Franklin Station Washington, D.C. 20044 Courier Address: 20 Massachusetts Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001 Attorneys for Defendants

( C 0 6 - 5 1 9 5 -R B L ) DEFENDANTS' REPLY IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO STAY DISCOVERY AND FOR RELIEF FROM THE DEADLINES IMPOSED BY THE COURT'S MINUTE ORDER OF APRIL 13, 2006 - 2

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CIVIL DIVISION, FEDERAL PROGRAMS BRANCH P.O. BOX 883, BEN FRANKLIN STATION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20044 [phone]

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT TACOMA

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on July 11, 2006, I electronically filed the foregoing Defendants' Reply in Support of Motion to Stay Discovery and for Relief from the Deadlines Imposed by the Court's Minute Order of April 13, 2006, with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to the following person:

James E. Lobsenz Carney Badley Spellman, P.S. 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3600 Seattle, WA 98104 Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail] Nicki McCraw Carney Badley Spellman, P.S. 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3600 Seattle, WA 98104 Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail]

Aaron H. Caplan American Civil Liberties Union of Washington 705 Second Avenue Seattle, WA 98104 Tel: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail]

/s/ PETER J. PHIPPS United States Department of Justice Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch P.O. Box 883, Ben Franklin Station Washington, DC 20044 Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail] Attorney for Defendants

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CIVIL DIVISION, FEDERAL PROGRAMS BRANCH P.O. BOX 883, BEN FRANKLIN STATION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20044 [phone]