CraftShack, Inc. v. Convenient Corners, Inc.
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Cynthia Ann Bashant (author)
Analysis
The parties filed a joint motion to voluntarily dismiss the action pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(ii). The court granted the motion and dismissed the case without prejudice, with each party bearing its own costs and attorney fees.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Grant of Joint Motion to Dismiss“Having considered the parties’ submission, the Court GRANTS Joint Motion. (ECF No. 21.)” | agree with court The court correctly applied Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(ii), which allows for voluntary dismissal by stipulation signed by all parties who have appeared. The court also correctly noted the local rule requirement (CivLR 7.2) that such stipulations be filed as a joint motion in this district. The dismissal without prejudice is the default outcome under Rule 41(a)(1)(B) absent a contrary stipulation. |
Dismissal Without Prejudice“Thus, the Court DISMISSES WITHOUT PREJUDICE the action against Defendant.” | agree with court Under Rule 41(a)(1)(B), a dismissal under Rule 41(a)(1) is without prejudice unless the dismissal order or the stipulation states otherwise. The order does not state otherwise, so the dismissal is correctly without prejudice. |
Allocation of Costs and Attorney Fees“Each party shall bear its own costs and attorney fees.” | agree with court In the absence of a specific agreement to the contrary or a statutory provision shifting fees, the default rule is that each party bears its own costs. This is a standard and appropriate disposition for a voluntary dismissal by stipulation. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally correct and cites the appropriate federal and local rules. It accurately states the legal standard for voluntary dismissal by stipulation and the default consequence of such a dismissal. The reasoning is sufficient for a routine procedural order.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 CRAFTSHACK, INC., Case No. 22-cv-00543-BAS-BGS 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING JOINT 13 v. MOTION TO DISMISS (ECF No. 21) 14 CONVENIENT CORNERS, INC., 15 Defendant. 16 17 18 Pending before the Court is the parties’ joint motion pursuant to Federal Rule of 19 Civil Procedure (“Rule”) 41(a)(1)(A)(ii) to dismiss the above-captioned action. (Joint 20 Mot., ECF No. 21.) 21 Under Rule 41(a)(1), a plaintiff has an absolute right to voluntarily dismiss its action 22 by (1) filing a notice of voluntary dismissal before a defendant has filed an answer or 23 moved for summary judgment, or (2) filing a stipulation of dismissal signed by all parties 24 who have appeared. Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A); see also Wilson v. City of San Jose, 111 25 F.3d 688, 692 (9th Cir. 1997). Dismissal is effective upon the filing of a compliant notice 26 or stipulation, as described in Rule 41(a)(1)(A), and no court order is required. Stone v. 27 Woodford, No. CIV-F-05-845 AWI-DLB, 2007 WL 527766 (E.D. Cal. Feb. 16, 2007). A 28 dismissal is without prejudice unless the parties stipulate otherwise. Fed. R. Civ. P. 1 ||41(a)(1)(B). However, the local civil rules of this district require that where, as here, 2 || litigants seek voluntary dismissal pursuant to stipulation, in accordance with Rule 3 ||41(a)(1)(A)(a1), the stipulation of dismissal must be filed as a joint motion. See CivLR 7.2. 4 Having considered the parties’ submission, the Court GRANTS Joint Motion. (ECF 5 ||No. 21.) Thus, the Court DISMISSES WITHOUT PREJUDICE the action against 6 Defendant. Each party shall bear its own costs and attorney fees. The Clerk of Court is 7 || directed to close the case. 8 IT IS SO ORDERED. 9 10 || DATED: July 18, 2023 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