Digital Verification Systems, LLC v. ClientPoint, Inc.
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Cynthia Ann Bashant (author)
Analysis
The parties jointly moved to dismiss the plaintiff's claims with prejudice and the defendant's counterclaims without prejudice pursuant to Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii). The court granted the motion, dismissed the claims and counterclaims as requested, and closed the case.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Granting the Joint Motion to Dismiss“Having considered the parties’ request, the Court GRANTS the Joint Motion. (ECF No. 8.)” | agree with court The parties filed a stipulation of dismissal signed by all parties who have appeared, satisfying the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(ii). The court correctly applied the rule to grant the motion. |
Dismissing Plaintiff's claims with prejudice“Thus, the Court DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE the action against Defendant” | agree with court Rule 41(a)(1)(B) provides that a dismissal is without prejudice unless the parties stipulate otherwise. The joint motion explicitly requested dismissal with prejudice, and the court honored that stipulation. |
Dismissing Defendant's counterclaims without prejudice“DISMISSES WITHOUT PREJUDICE Defendant’s counterclaims against Plaintiff.” | agree with court Rule 41(c) applies the voluntary dismissal provisions to counterclaims. The parties stipulated to dismissal without prejudice, which is the default under Rule 41(a)(1)(B) absent a contrary stipulation. The court correctly applied the rule. |
The order itself: sound — The order correctly identifies the applicable rule (Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii)) for voluntary dismissal by stipulation. It correctly notes that the parties filed a signed stipulation and that the local rules require such stipulations to be filed as a joint motion. The court correctly applies the default rule that dismissal is without prejudice unless stipulated otherwise, and honors the parties' specific stipulations regarding prejudice for the claims and counterclaims. The reasoning is complete and supported by the cited authorities.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 DIGITAL VERIFICATION SYSTEMS, Case No. 21-cv-1420-BAS-DEB LLC, 12 ORDER GRANTING JOINT Plaintiff, 13 MOTION TO DISMISS (ECF No. 8) v. 14 CLIENTPOINT, INC., 15 Defendant. 16 18 The parties have jointly moved pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Rule”) 19 41(a)(1)(A)(ii) to dismiss Plaintiff’s claims in this action with prejudice (see Compl., ECF 20 No. 1) and Defendant’s counterclaims without prejudice (see Answer., ECF No. 6). (Joint 21 Mot., ECF No. 8.) In support of their Joint Motion, the parties filed a stipulation of 22 dismissal, signed by all parties who have appeared. (See Joint Mot. 1–2.) 23 Under Rule 41(a)(1), a plaintiff has an absolute right to voluntarily dismiss its action 24 by (1) filing a notice of voluntary dismissal before a defendant has filed an answer or 25 moved for summary judgment, or (2) filing a stipulation of dismissal signed by all parties 26 who have appeared. Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A); see also Wilson v. City of San Jose, 111 27 F.3d 688, 692 (9th Cir. 1997). Rule 41(c) further provides these provisions apply with 28 equal force to a counterclaim brought by a defendant. Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(c); Animal Blood 1 || Bank, Inc. v. Hale, No. 2:10-CV-02080-KJM-KJN, 2012 WL 210960, at *2 n.3 (E.D. Cal. 2 || June 13, 2012) (interpreting Rule 41(c) “to make Rule 41 applicable to, among other things, 3 counterclaims”). Dismissal is effective upon the filing of a compliant notice or stipulation, 4 ||as described in Rule 41(a)(1)(A), and no court order is required. Stone v. Woodford, No. 5 || CIV-F-05-845 AWI-DLB, 2007 WL 527766 (E.D. Cal. Feb. 16, 2007). A dismissal is 6 || without prejudice unless the parties stipulate otherwise. Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(B). 7 || However, the local civil rules of this district require that where, as here, litigants seek 8 || voluntary dismissal by filing a signed stipulation pursuant to Rule 41(a)(1)(i1), such a 9 || stipulation must be filed as a joint motion.! 10 Having considered the parties’ request, the Court GRANTS the Joint Motion. (ECF 11 ||No. 8.) Thus, the Court DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE the action against Defendant 12 DISMISSES WITHOUT PREJUDICE Defendant’s counterclaims against Plaintiff. 13 Each party shall bear its own costs and fees. The Clerk of Court is directed to close the 14 || case. 15 IT IS SO ORDERED. 16 ) 17 || DATED: January 4, 2022 ( yi uA (Hiphan 6 ig United States District Judge 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 ‘orthe Electronic □□ re jominustrative Policies and Procedures Manual, United States District Court