Opinion
Case No: C 10-01501 JCS
10-05-2011
CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY, SIERRA FOREST LEGACY, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION INFORMATION CENTER, and KLAMATH-SISKIYOU WILDLANDS CENTER, Plaintiffs, v. KEN SALAZAR, in his official capacity as Secretary of the Interior, DANIEL ASHE, in his official capacity as Director, United States Fish & Wildlife Service, and UNITED STATES FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE, an agency of the United States Department of the Interior, Defendants.
DEBORAH S. REAMES, State Bar No. 117257 GEORGE M. TORGUN, State Bar No. 222085 Attorneys for Plaintiffs IGNACIA S. MORENO, Assistant Attorney General SETH M. BARSKY, Chief DANIEL J. POLLAK, Trial Attorney U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division Wildlife and Marine Resources Section Ben Franklin Station, P.O. Box 7369 Attorneys for Federal Defendants
DEBORAH S. REAMES, State Bar No. 117257
GEORGE M. TORGUN, State Bar No. 222085
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
IGNACIA S. MORENO, Assistant Attorney General
SETH M. BARSKY, Chief
DANIEL J. POLLAK, Trial Attorney
U.S. Department of Justice
Environment and Natural Resources Division
Wildlife and Marine Resources Section
Ben Franklin Station, P.O. Box 7369
Attorneys for Federal Defendants
FEDERAL DEFENDANTS' AND PLAINTIFFS' JOINT NOTICE OF RELATED SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS, STIPULATION OF DISMISSAL, AND [PROPOSED] ORDER
Plaintiffs Center for Biological Diversity ("Center"), Sierra Forest Legacy, Environmental Protection Information Center, and Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center (collectively, "Plaintiffs"), and Defendants Kenneth Salazar, in his official capacity as Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Daniel Ashe, in his official capacity as Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ("Service"), and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (collectively, "Defendants") hereby notify the Court of approval of two settlement agreements in a related case, and stipulate to dismissal of this case.
These settlement agreements were filed in multi-district litigation consolidated before District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and were approved by Judge Sullivan on September 9, 2011. In re Endangered Species Act Section 4 Deadline Litig., Misc. Action No. 10-377 (EGS), MDL Docket No. 2165 (D.D.C.) ("ESA Section 4 MDL"), MDL Docket ("Dkt.") 55 and 56 (attached as Exhibits 1 and 2). On May 10, 2011, Defendants and WildEarth Guardians ("Guardians") moved the court in the ESA Section 4 MDL for approval of a proposed settlement agreement that would resolve Guardians' claims in that action. MDL Dkt. 31. On July 12, 2011, Defendants and the Center moved for approval of a separate proposed settlement agreement that would resolve the Center's claims in the ESA Section 4 MDL. MDL Dkt. 42. Together, those two settlement agreements provide for the Service's completion of a proposed listing rule or not-warranted finding for the West Coast Distinct Population Segment of the fisher ("fisher") by the end of fiscal year 2014. Id., Dkt. 31-1, at ¶ 2 (attached as Exhibit 3), and Dkt. 42-1, at B(3)(d) (attached as Exhibit 4).
As stated by Plaintiffs and Defendants in their July 15, 2011 Joint Status Report and Stipulated Request for Extension of Stay (Dkt. 47), the two settlement agreements would resolve the issues pending before this Court with respect to the fisher and, if approved by the MDL court, Plaintiffs and Defendants in this case would jointly move to dismiss the present litigation.
The MDL court approved those settlements on September 9, 2011. See Exhibits 1 and 2. Accordingly, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a) and Civil L.R. 7-12, Plaintiffs and Defendants hereby stipulate to the dismissal of Plaintiffs' Complaint for Declaratory and Injunction Relief (Dkt. 1) with prejudice. Plaintiffs and Defendants agree that, notwithstanding dismissal of this action, the Court retains jurisdiction to consider any stipulation or motion concerning an award of costs and attorneys' fees pursuant to ESA section 11(g)(4), 16 U.S.C. § 1540(g)(4). Plaintiffs and Defendants will attempt to reach agreement as to fee recovery. If they are unable to do so, Plaintiffs will file an application with the Court for the recovery of fees and costs within 60 days of the approval of this Order by the Court.
Respectfully submitted,
DEBORAH S. REAMES
GEORGE M. TORGUN
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
IGNACIA S. MORENO,
Assistant Attorney General
JEAN E. WILLIAMS, Chief
DANIEL POLLAK (Cal. Bar # 264285)
Trial Attorney
U.S. Department of Justice
Environment & Natural Resources Division
Wildlife & Marine Resources Section
Ben Franklin Station
Attorneys for Federal Defendants
[PROPOSED] ORDER
PURSUANT TO STIPULATION, IT IS SO ORDERED.
Judge Joseph C. Spero
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on this 5th day of October, 2011, I caused a copy of the foregoing to be served on the counsel of record by means of the Court's electronic filing system:
Deborah S. Reames
dreames@earthjustice.org
George M. Torgun
gtorgun@earthjustice.org
Brendan R. Cummings
bcummings@biologicaldiversity.org
DANIEL POLLAK