Rule 41: Dismissal of Actions Flashcards
What is a voluntary dismissal? (Q)
A voluntary dismissal is a dismissal:
by the plaintiff,
by the court at the plaintiff’s request, or
by agreement of the parties.
What is an involuntary dismissal? (Q)
An involuntary dismissal is a dismissal without the plaintiff’s request or formal consent. An involuntary dismissal can also be defined as any dismissal that does not meet the definition of a voluntary dismissal.
What is a dismissal without prejudice? (Q)
A dismissal without prejudice is a dismissal that does not bar the plaintiff from refiling the case. However, refiling remains subject to any other legal restrictions, such as statutes of limitations.
What is a dismissal with prejudice? (Q)
A dismissal with prejudice is a dismissal that acts as an adjudication on the merits. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure do not use the term dismissal with prejudice, though it sometimes appears in court decisions or in casual usage.
What is adjudication on the merits? (Q)
Adjudication on the merits means that a claim or defense has been decided based on the law and the facts. In other words, adjudication on the merits is based on the substance of the claim or defense.
Adjudication on the merits can be contrasted with a decision made on procedural grounds. Procedural decisions typically do not reach the substance of the claim or the defense.
What two procedures can a plaintiff use to dismiss a case voluntarily, without a court order? (Q)
A plaintiff can dismiss a case voluntarily, without a court order, by filing either:
a notice of dismissal at any time before the defendant serves an answer or a motion for summary judgment or
a stipulation of dismissal signed by all parties who have appeared in the case.
A stipulation is an agreement by the parties about a matter of law, a matter of fact, or some action to be taken by the court.
Under what procedural circumstances must the plaintiff obtain a court order for a voluntary dismissal? (Q)
The plaintiff must obtain a court order for a voluntary dismissal if:
the defendant has filed either an answer or a motion for summary judgment, and
the other parties do not stipulate to the dismissal.
If a plaintiff moves for a voluntary dismissal, what effect does a pending counterclaim have on the judge’s decision? (Q)
If the defendant has pleaded a counterclaim before being served with the plaintiff’s motion to dismiss, and the defendant objects to dismissal, then the court can dismiss only if the counterclaim can remain in court as an independent claim. This will require that the court have subject-matter and personal jurisdiction in connection with the counterclaim standing alone. This rule prevents the plaintiff from cutting off a counterclaim by dismissing the case.
A plaintiff sued a defendant in federal court. The plaintiff’s claim arose under federal law. The defendant answered and asserted a counterclaim under the same federal law. The plaintiff then moved to dismiss the case. The defendant objected to dismissal.
Assuming that the court has personal jurisdiction over both parties and that venue is proper, can the plaintiff move to dismiss the case? (Q)
Yes. The plaintiff can move to dismiss the case. However, if the defendant has pleaded a counterclaim and objects to dismissal, the court may grant the plaintiff’s motion only if the counterclaim can remain independently before the court. The fundamental requirements to bring any federal claim are jurisdiction and venue.
Here, the defendant counterclaimed and objected to dismissal. Thus, the court can grant the plaintiff’s motion to dismiss only if the counterclaim can remain independently before the court. The counterclaim here satisfies this requirement. The counterclaim is within the court’s subject-matter jurisdiction, because it arises under federal law. The facts state that personal jurisdiction and venue are also proper. Thus, the counterclaim can remain in court independently of the plaintiff’s original claim, and the court can grant the plaintiff’s motion to dismiss.
Is a voluntary dismissal generally considered to be a dismissal without prejudice? (Q)
Yes. A voluntary dismissal is generally considered to be a dismissal without prejudice unless:
the dismissal notice states otherwise,
the stipulation of dismissal states otherwise, or
the plaintiff has previously dismissed a state or federal case that included the same claim as the one being dismissed.
A plaintiff sued a defendant in federal court for breach of contract. The plaintiff had previously filed the same claim in a state court but dismissed the state case before filing the federal suit. Before the defendant filed the answer, the plaintiff filed a notice of dismissal. The plaintiff then initiated discussions with the defendant seeking to resolve the dispute. These discussions failed to produce an agreement. The plaintiff later sought to refile the case in the same federal court.
May the plaintiff refile the case in the same federal court? (Q)
No. The plaintiff may not refile the case in the same federal court, because the dismissal of the federal case constituted an adjudication on the merits. A plaintiff can voluntarily dismiss a federal case before a defendant files an answer or a motion for summary judgment. Most voluntary dismissals are dismissals without prejudice, which do not bar the plaintiff from refiling the case. However, if the plaintiff has previously dismissed the same claim in a state or federal court, then a voluntary dismissal is treated as an adjudication on the merits. This means that the plaintiff is barred from refiling the case in the same federal court.
Here, the plaintiff dismissed a state-court case, then dismissed a federal case based on the same claim. Thus, the federal dismissal is treated as an adjudication on the merits, and the plaintiff may not refile the case in the same federal court.
What is the procedural effect of a voluntary dismissal if the plaintiff has previously dismissed the same claim in another case? (Q)
A voluntary dismissal is treated as an adjudication on the merits if the plaintiff has previously dismissed a state or federal case that included the same claim.
What is the procedural effect of treating a dismissal as an adjudication on the merits? (Q)
If a dismissal is treated as an adjudication on the merits, it is given the same effect as if the court had decided the merits of the claim. The primary result of this treatment is that the plaintiff may not refile the claim in the same court. This is sometimes called dismissal with prejudice, though the federal rules do not use this term.
In a federal diversity case, an adjudication on the merits will not always bar the plaintiff from refiling the claim in a different federal court. The new federal court will give the same effect to the dismissal as would a state court in the state in which the dismissal occurred. If the applicable state law does not preclude refiling, then the new federal court can allow refiling unless there is some other obstacle, such as a jurisdictional flaw or the statute of limitations.
