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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021CV30470 - City Of Fort Collins V. American Civil Constructors, Inc. And American Civil Constructors, Llc - 017 - Joint Motion To Continue Stay DISTRICT COURT, LARIMER COUNTY STATE OF COLORADO 201 La Porte Avenue Fort Collins, CO 80521 ▲ COURT USE ONLY ▼ Plaintiff: CITY OF FORT COLLINS v. Defendants: AMERICAN CIVIL CONSTRUCTORS, INC. and AMERICAN CIVIL CONSTRUCTORS, LLC. Attorneys for Defendants: J. Scott Lasater, 16070 Max S. Gad, 43291 LASATER & MARTIN, P.C. 8822 Ridgeline Blvd., Ste. 405 Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 303/730-3900 Scott@LasaterandMartin.com Max@LasaterandMartin.com Case Number: 2021CV30470 Division: 3B JOINT MOTION TO CONTINUE STAY OF CASE UP TO AND INCLUDING DECEMBER 23, 2022 Plaintiff and Defendants, through their respective attorneys, submit the following Joint Motion to Continue Stay of Case Up to and Including December 23, 2022, as follows: C.R.C.P. 121 § 1-15(8) Certificate of Conferral This is a joint motion brought by both parties. No party opposes the relief sought herein. DATE FILED: December 8, 2022 12:52 PM FILING ID: E5098B0636E36 CASE NUMBER: 2021CV30470 Motion 1. As the Court is aware, this case stems from Defendants’ design and construction of the pedestrian underpass located in the Plaintiff City of Fort Collins’ (“Plaintiff”) right-of- way at Prospect Road and Center Avenue in the City of Fort Collins (“the Underpass”). 2. The background, history of the design and construction of the Underpass, and the parties’ investigation of claimed construction defects at the Underpass are further described in Plaintiff’s Complaint, Plaintiff’s October 10, 2021 Status Report, the parties’ October 25, 2021 Joint Motion for Stay of Case to Facilitate Settlement, and Plaintiff’s December 17, 2021 and March 25, 2022 Status Reports. 3. On September 6, 2022, Plaintiff and Defendants jointly moved for a 91 day stay of this case to facilitate settlement discussions on the basis that the parties had actively been discussing settlement and resolution under the protections of CRE 408. That Motion discussed an in-person meeting on August 31, 2022, and additional “action items” that needed to occur following that meeting for the parties to come to a settlement agreement. 4. The Court granted the joint motion on September 7, 2022, staying the case up to December 7, holding all deadlines in abeyance, administratively closing the case, and ordering a status report or other filing be filed on or before December 14. 5. Since the Court’s order, the parties have held follow-up CRE 408 Zoom conferences on September 20, October 18, November 8, and November 22. 6. The parties have agreed in principle to a repair-based settlement but have not yet agreed to all settlement terms. 7. The scope of work has been agreed to. However, the parties have not yet agreed upon language of a repair-based release/agreement. Plaintiff needs to research one item related to permits for the anticipated work. Plaintiff and Defendants have not yet agreed to other terms in the release, such as insurance-related provisions for the work to be performed by Defendants. Defendants are still considering Plaintiff’s proposals to that effect. Those terms need to be negotiated and agreed upon. 8. In addition, the Thanksgiving holiday, an arbitration tried by Defendants’ counsel in November, and an international vacation by Plaintiff’s counsel in December necessitate additional time to hopefully resolve these outstanding items. 9. For those reasons, Plaintiffs and Defendants jointly request that the stay of this case be continued up to and including December 23, 2022, upon which the parties hope to have reached a full settlement and either file a Stipulation for Dismissal With Prejudice or a Status Report or Notice of Settlement requesting additional time to file same. 10. “Courts, in general, have the power to stay proceedings before them.” Town of Minturn v. Sensible Housing Co., Inc., 273 P.3d 1154, 1159 (Colo. App. 2012). This power “is incidental to the power inherent in every court to control the disposition of causes on its docket with economy of time and effort for itself, for counsel and for litigants.” Id. (quoting Landis v. N. Amer. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254-55 (1936)). 11. Continuing the stay will conserve resources, time, and attorneys’ fees and secure an inexpensive resolution of this matter. The parties have worked very hard to reach a resolution and are close. 12. No party will be prejudiced by the relief requested herein. To the contrary, the parties will be prejudiced if the relief requested is denied. 13. A proposed order continuing the stay up to and including December 23, 2022, and ordering Defendants to file a status report or other filing on or before January 6, 2023 (to account for the Christmas and New Years’ Holidays), is attached for the Court’s convenience. Respectfully submitted this 8th day of December, 2022. LASATER & MARTIN, P.C. /s/ Max S. Gad ________________________________ J. Scott Lasater, #16070 Max S. Gad, #42391 Attorneys for Defendants MILL CONSTRUCTION LAW, LLC /s/ John W. Mill John W. Mill, #22348 Attorney for Plaintiff CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I certify that on this 8th day of December, 2022, a true and correct copy of the foregoing JOINT MOTION TO CONTINUE STAY OF CASE UP TO AND INCLUDING DECEMBER 23, 2022 was filed and served via Colorado Courts E-filing, to all Counsel of Record. /s/ Kimberly Coupal Kimberly Coupal In accordance with C.R.C.P. 121, §1-26(7), a printable copy of this document with electronic signatures is maintained by the filing party and is available for inspection by other parties or the Court upon request.