Alex Smith Rojas v. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Inc.
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Cynthia Ann Bashant (author)
Analysis
The parties filed a joint motion to voluntarily dismiss the action with prejudice pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(ii). The court granted the motion, dismissed the case with prejudice, and directed the Clerk to close the case.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Granting the Joint Motion to Dismiss with Prejudice“Having considered the parties’ request, the Court GRANTS the Joint Motion. Thus, Court DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE the instant action.” | agree with court The court correctly applied Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii), which allows voluntary dismissal by stipulation signed by all parties who have appeared. The parties explicitly stipulated to dismissal with prejudice, satisfying the requirement that dismissal is without prejudice unless otherwise stipulated under Rule 41(a)(1)(B). The court also correctly noted the local rule requirement that such stipulations be filed as joint motions in this district. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally correct and cites the appropriate federal rules and supporting case law. It accurately reflects the parties' stipulation and the local rules of the Southern District of California. There are no gaps in reasoning because the legal standard for voluntary dismissal by stipulation is straightforward and fully addressed.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ALEX SMITH ROJAS, Case No. 25-cv-02468-BAS-JLB 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING JOINT 13 v. MOTION TO DISMISS WITH PREJUDICE (ECF No. 20) 14 SEAWORLD PARKS & ENTERTAINMENT, INC., 15 Defendant. 16 17 Presently before the Court is the parties’ request to dismiss this action with prejudice 18 pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Rule”) 41. (ECF No. 20.) Under Rule 19 41(a)(1)(A), a plaintiff has an absolute right to voluntarily dismiss its action by (1) filing a 20 notice of voluntary dismissal before a defendant has filed an answer or moved for summary 21 judgment, see Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i), or (2) filing a stipulation of dismissal signed by all 22 parties who have appeared, see Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii). See also Wilson v. City of San Jose, 23 111 F.3d 688, 692 (9th Cir. 1997). Dismissal pursuant to Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii) is effective 24 upon the filing of a compliant notice or stipulation. No court order is required. See Stone 25 v. Woodford, CIV-F-05-845 AWI-DLB, 2007 WL 527766 (E.D. Cal. Feb. 16, 2007). 26 Nonetheless, the local civil rules of this district require that where, as here, litigants seek 27 28 1 || voluntary dismissal by filing a signed stipulation pursuant to Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i1), such a 2 ||stipulation must be filed as a joint motion.! 3 A dismissal is without prejudice unless the parties stipulate otherwise. See Fed. R. 4 P. 41(a)(1)(B). Here, the parties have stipulated to dismissal with prejudice. (ECF No. 5 6 Having considered the parties’ request, the Court GRANTS the Joint Motion. Thus, 7 Court DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE the instant action. The parties are to bear 8 || their own fees and costs. The Clerk of Court is directed to close the case. 9 IT IS SO ORDERED. / , 10 || DATED: September 4, 2026 Lin A (Lyohaa 6 11 United States District Judge 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 || ——_—— 28 See Electronic Case Filing Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual, United States District Court for the Southern District of California.