COEUR d'ALENE - Both parties in a lawsuit filed by The Hitching Post against the city of Coeur d'Alene have asked for more time to reach a resolution before trial.

Attorneys for the city filed a motion Tuesday in federal court asking for proceedings in the lawsuit to be delayed for 21 days. In November, U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Bush approved a request for a 60-day halt in the suit after both sides requested more time to attempt to settle the matter outside a courtroom.

Lawyers with the Alliance Defending Freedom - a Christian rights legal advocacy organization - filed the suit in October on behalf of Don and Evelyn Knapp, the owners of the Hitching Post. The civil rights lawsuit claims the Knapps are being forced to violate their religious beliefs and perform same-sex marriages because of the city's anti-discrimination ordinance.

According to the motion, the request for additional time was made in part because the Alliance Defending Freedom is preparing for oral arguments on Jan. 12 in a case that will be heard by the United States Supreme Court.

"This request is not made to delay, but is made in good faith by the parties," states the motion prepared by Kirtlan Naylor, a Boise-based attorney representing the city.

Coeur d'Alene City Attorney Mike Gridley wrote in an email to The Press that during talks with the Knapps' lawyers, the city's legal counsel will continue to pursue dismissal of the case.

"If it cannot be resolved out of court we will ask the court to dismiss it," Gridley added.

Jeremy Tedesco, senior legal counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, told The Press Wednesday that the organization has not changed its goal of obtaining a formal clarification to the city's anti-discrimination ordinance.

"Alliance Defending Freedom is requesting that the city honor the Knapps' fundamental freedoms and include a clear exemption covering for-profit businesses that are operated according to the owner's religious beliefs," Tedesco said.