Joint Report — Navy SEALs 1-3, et al. v. Lloyd J. Austin III (Civil Action No. 4:21-cv-01236-O, Document 276)

Date: 2024-03-11

Summary

A joint report filed May 1, 2024 as Document 276 in Navy SEALs 1-3, et al. v. Lloyd J. Austin III, in his official capacity as United States Secretary of Defense, et al., Civil Action No. 4:21-cv-01236-O, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. It responds to the court's March 11, 2024 order (ECF No. 268) requiring a joint mediation report. The report states that the parties attended mediation with Magistrate Judge Cureton on April 3, 2024 and that the court granted stays on April 10, 2024 (ECF No. 273) and April 25, 2024 (ECF No. 275). It states that the parties have reached an agreement in principle to be memorialized in a Proposed Settlement Agreement, subject to Department of Justice approval, and asks the court to vacate discovery deadlines and extend the stay for 30 days. It is signed by counsel for both sides.

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“Joint Report — Navy SEALs 1-3, et al. v. Lloyd J. Austin III (Civil Action No. 4:21-cv-01236-O, Document 276).” Original at archive.org, dated 2024-03-11. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2024-03-11-covid-era-misc-47bf7298-1/, SHA-256 47bf7298143b41a2a5d271a762f359bdd67fec73372c0d08d6beb2916c244c2a.

Full text

Case 4:21-cv-01236-O Document 276 Filed 05/01/24 Page 1 of 4 PageID 7999

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
____________________________________
)
NAVY SEALS 1-3, et al. )
)
Plaintiffs, )
)
v. ) Civil Action No. 4:21-cv-01236-O
)
LLOYD J. AUSTIN III, in his official )
capacity as United States )
Secretary of Defense, et al., )
)
Defendants. )
___________________________________ )

JOINT REPORT

On March 11, 2024, the Court issued an order requiring the parties to submit a joint

mediation report that informs the Court whether this case has been settled by agreement of the

parties. ECF No. 268. The parties attended mediation with Magistrate Judge Cureton on April 3,

2024 and have had additional conversations both with Judge Cureton and amongst themselves

since then. On April 10, 2024, the Court granted a two-week stay to permit the parties to continue

these discussions. ECF No. 273. On April 25, 2024, the Court granted a further one-week stay to

permit the parties to continue negotiations. ECF No. 275.

The parties have now reached an agreement in principle on terms that will be memorialized

in a Proposed Settlement Agreement which, subject to formal final approval by the Department of

Justice, will be filed for the Court’s review and preliminary approval. Counsel are currently

working on drafting the Proposed Settlement Agreement, the content of class notices, and a motion

for preliminary approval of the Class Settlement. Thus, the parties respectfully request that the

Court vacate the discovery deadlines and extend the stay for 30 days to allow for these tasks to be

completed and for the required government approval of the Proposed Settlement Agreement

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Case 4:21-cv-01236-O Document 276 Filed 05/01/24 Page 2 of 4 PageID 8000

(which Defendants’ counsel estimates will take two weeks). The parties propose that by the end of

the 30-day stay, they will either file the appropriate motion and proposed agreement, or the parties

will file another joint status report informing the Court of the status of these tasks and including

an explanation for any delay.

Dated: May 1, 2024 Respectfully submitted,

BRIAN M. BOYNTON
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General
Civil Division

JOSHUA E. GARDNER
Special Counsel

/s/ Andrew E. Carmichael
ANDREW E. CARMICHAEL
AMY POWELL
Senior Trial Counsel
LIAM C. HOLLAND
Trial Attorney
United States Department of Justice
Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch
1100 L Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20005
Tel: (202) 514-4964
Email: liam.c.holland@usdoj.gov

Counsel for Defendant

KELLY J. SHACKELFORD /s/ Heather Gebelin Hacker
Texas Bar No. 18070950 HEATHER GEBELIN HACKER
JEFFREY C. MATEER Texas Bar No. 24103325
Texas Bar No. 13185320 ANDREW B. STEPHENS
HIRAM S. SASSER, III Texas Bar No. 24079396
Texas Bar No. 24039157 HACKER STEPHENS LLP
DAVID J. HACKER 108 Wild Basin Road South, Suite 250
Texas Bar No. 24103323 Austin, Texas 78746
Danielle A. Runyan Tel.: (512) 399-3022
Texas Bar No: 24134548 heather@hackerstephens.com
Holly M. Randall andrew@hackerstephens.com
Texas Bar No. 24128002
FIRST LIBERTY INSTITUTE Counsel for Plaintiffs

2
Case 4:21-cv-01236-O Document 276 Filed 05/01/24 Page 3 of 4 PageID 8001

2001 W. Plano Pkwy., Ste. 1600
Plano, Texas 75075
Tel: (972) 941-4444
jmateer@firstliberty.org
hsasser@firstliberty.org
dhacker@firstliberty.org
drunyan@firstliberty.org
hrandall@firstliberty.org

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Case 4:21-cv-01236-O Document 276 Filed 05/01/24 Page 4 of 4 PageID 8002

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on May 1, 2024, this document was served through the Court’s CM/ECF

Document Filing System upon all counsel of record.

/s/ Heather Gebelin Hacker
HEATHER GEBELIN HACKER

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Our copy: gov.uscourts.txnd.355696.276.0.pdf
Original: archive.org