NEWS - SHOW vs. USDA Court Date Canceled; To Be Settled Out of Court

The court date on July 16 has been canceled.  That doesn't mean the game is finished.  The court is just changing some dates around to make sure the Plaintiff and the Defendant get to get their evidence and information together.  This is a GOOD thing.  It gets this ridiculous lawsuit out of the court where it doesn't need to be.  It seems to me like we've got a good chance of seeing the USDA win this one, which means we have a very good chance of seeing real justice for the horse.


Now to set the record straight, I did talk with the USDA about this lawsuit, asking if the mandated penalties will still be in place even though this lawsuit is going on.  They said YES.  So this doesn't mean that everyone gets a free pass--THE MANDATED PENALTIES ARE CURRENTLY IN PLACE.  If you don't believe me, write to Drs. Gipson and Cezar yourself.

**********


UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
SHOW, INC.; CONTENDER FARMS, L.L.P.; AND MIKE McGARTLAND,
Plaintiffs,
v.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF  AGRICULTURE,
Defendant.

Civil Action No. 4:12-cv-429-Y
The Honorable Terry R. Means
JOINT STIPULATION TO CANCEL HEARING AND SET BRIEFING SCHEDULE

Plaintiffs SHOW, Inc., Contender Farms, and Mike McGartland and Defendant United States Department of Agriculture, by and through their undersigned counsel, hereby stipulate to a cancellation of the consolidated hearing on Plaintiffs’ request for preliminary injunction and trial on the merits, currently set for July 16, 2012 at 10 a.m.

The parties agree that the combined hearing and trial is unnecessary in this case and that final resolution should be reached based on cross-motions for judgment on the evidentiary record as determined by to the Court. However, the parties disagree about what evidence the Court can consider when reviewing an agency’s decision.  Accordingly, the parties submit the following schedule for briefing what should
constitute the evidentiary record before the Court and the merits of Plaintiffs’ claims:

• Plaintiffs will file their evidence with the court on July 16, 2012, per the court’s prior order, Case 4:12-cv-00429-Y Document 22 Filed 07/12/12 Page 1 of 3 PageID 641
• Defendant shall have until Tuesday, July 17, 2012 to submit all documents and things that they believe should be considered by the Court in this case.
• A party may file a motion seeking to exclude all or part of another party’s submission no later than August 7, 2012. The submitting party shall have twenty one days to respond to the motion.
• Once the Court has ruled on all outstanding motions concerning the scope of the record in this case, the parties shall submit a proposed briefing schedule for resolving the merits of Plaintiffs’ claims.

Dated: July 12, 2012


Respectfully submitted,
STUART F. DELERY
Acting Assistant Attorney General
SARAH R. SALDAÑA
United States Attorney
JOHN R. GRIFFITHS
Assistant Branch Director
/s/ Nathan M. Swinton
NATHAN M. SWINTON (NY Bar)
JOSEPH W. MEAD (MI Bar)
Trial Attorneys
Federal Programs Branch
U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division
20 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Telephone: (202) 305-7667
Fax: (202) 616-8470
Email: Nathan.M.Swinton@usdoj.gov
Counsel for Defendant
____s/Karin Cagle_________________
KARIN CAGLE
Texas State Bar No. 24043588
Kirkley & Berryman, L.L.P
Case 4:12-cv-00429-Y Document 22 Filed 07/12/12 Page 2 of 3 PageID 642
3
100 N. Forest Park Blvd., Suite 220
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
E-mail:kcagle@kbblawyers.com
Tel. 817.335.3311
Fax: 817.335.3373
DAVID BROILES
Texas State Bar No. 03054500
2400 Indian Cove
Fort Worth, Texas 76108
Email:davidbroiles@gmail.com
Tel. 817-246-7801
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
Case 4:12-cv-00429-Y Document 22 Filed 07/12/12 Page 3 of 3 PageID 643
----------------------------------------------------------