Opinion ID: 1679807
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Effect of the Voluntary Dismissal of the First Action.

Text: Venard contends the district court erred when it sustained Winter's motion to dismiss. He believes he had an absolute right under rule 215 to voluntarily dismiss the first action. And, he says, the fact that he did so shouldunder section 668.11have no preclusive effect. We agree. Rule 215 provides in relevant part: A party may, without order of court, dismiss that party's own petition ... at any time up until ten days before the trial is scheduled to begin.... A dismissal under this rule shall be without prejudice, unless otherwise stated; but if made by any party who has previously dismissed an action against the same defendant, in any court of any state or of the United States, including or based on the same cause, such dismissal shall operate as an adjudication against that party on the merits, unless otherwise ordered by the court, in the interests of justice. Under rule 215, a party has an absolute right to dismiss the action at any time up until ten days before the trial is scheduled to begin. Iowa R.Civ.P. 215; Witt Mechanical Contractors, Inc. v. United Bhd. of Carpenters & Joiners, 237 N.W.2d 450, 451 (Iowa 1976). Accord Darrah v. Des Moines Gen. Hosp., 436 N.W.2d 53, 54 (Iowa 1989). (There is no contention that Venard's case had been set for trial when he dismissed it.) Rule 215 is clear that the first dismissal is without prejudice. A dismissal without prejudice is not ordinarily res judicata of the merits of the controversy. A dismissal without prejudice leaves the parties as if no action had been instituted. It ends the particular case but is not such an adjudication itself as to bar a new action between the parties. Windus v. Great Plains Gas, 254 Iowa 114, 124, 116 N.W.2d 410, 415-16 (1962) (citations omitted) (defining dismissal without prejudice in Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 215.1, the dismissal for lack of prosecution rule). In addition, a dismissal without prejudice under rule 215 ordinarily deprives the court of jurisdiction. See Darrah, 436 N.W.2d at 55 (recognizing the no jurisdiction rule but carving out an exception to adjudicate the collateral problem created by prior wrongful conduct of the dismissing party warranting [Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure] 80(a) sanctions) (rule 80(a) sanction motion filed after plaintiff voluntarily dismissed medical malpractice case). Winter takes no issue with these general principles. His contention is that there is a direct conflictregarding voluntary dismissalsbetween rule 215 and the language of section 668.11. Section 668.11 provides: 1. A party in a professional liability case brought against a licensed professional pursuant to this chapter who intends to call an expert witness of their own selection, shall certify to the court and all other parties the expert's name, qualifications and the purpose for calling the expert within the following time period: a. The plaintiff within one hundred eighty days of the defendant's answer unless the court for good cause not ex parte extends the time of disclosure. b. The defendant within ninety days of plaintiff's certification. 2. If a party fails to disclose an expert pursuant to subsection 1 or does not make the expert available for discovery, the expert shall be prohibited from testifying in the action unless leave for the expert's testimony is given by the court for good cause shown. 3. This section does not apply to court appointed experts or to rebuttal experts called with the approval of the court. Winter believes that once a party (1) has not designated experts under this section and then (2) voluntarily dismisses a suit, that party should not be allowed to file an identical suit at a later date. Winter apparently believes that in these circumstances section 668.11 bars a subsequent suit alleging identical issues. Otherwise, Winter says, without such a result section 668.11 would have no meaningful effect. The short answer to Winter's argument is that we see nothing in the language of section 668.11 to suggest such a conflict with rule 215. Section 668.11 speaks only to the designation of experts, stating different deadlines for plaintiffs and defendants. The section allows a designation of experts beyond the deadlines for good cause. It does not suggest that a dismissal of a subsequent suit is the required outcome when (1) a plaintiff does not designate expert witnesses within 180 days of the defendant's answer in an original action, and then (2) voluntarily dismisses the original action. Section 668.11 says nothing about dismissal of any lawsuit. We have said that this section is procedural or remedial rather than substantive. Hantsbarger v. Coffin, 501 N.W.2d 501, 504 (Iowa 1993). In Hantsbarger, we recognized that the legislative intent behind section 668.11 was to provide certainty about the identity of experts and prevent last minute dismissals when an expert cannot be found. Id. (citation omitted). Here, Venard found experts but did not say so until after the deadline had passed. If, as Winter suggests, the legislature intended a relationship between rule 215 and section 668.11, it could easily have said so. As Venard points out, nothing in section 668.11 requires a dismissal of any action for a party's failure to designate experts. The only penalty the section spells out is that the undesignated or late designated experts cannot testify. Even if we were to accept Winter's contention that Venard dismissed his first action to escape the consequences of a failure to designate experts in time, it would not matter. The motive of the dismissing party plays no part in a voluntary dismissal under rule 215. Under the rule, Venard was entitled to dismiss the first action without prejudice for any reason. The district court erred in concluding otherwise.