Opinion ID: 773427
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Payment of Litigation Costs as a Condition of Voluntary Dismissal

Text: 152 On August 4, 1999, plaintiffs advised the district court judge that, in response to the court's numerous unfavor able rulings, they intended to dismiss their remaining claims with prejudice in order to take an immediate appeal. As noted above, the court denied the request for leave to amend the complaint, dismissed the Title VI regulatory claims pursuant to Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and advised plaintiffs that, if they elected to dismiss the remaining claims pursuant to Rule 41(a)(2), the court would impose reasonable costs. Plaintiffs opposed the imposition of costs, but the court ruled that an award of reasonable costs will be a condition precedent to entry of an order permitting the plaintiffs to voluntarily dismiss their remaining claims. Chavez v. Ill. State Police, No. 94 CV 5307, 1999 WL 754681, at  (N.D. Ill. Sept. 9, 1999). Plaintiffs eventually accepted the court's condition on dismissal. Noting the seriousness of the decision, the court required proof that the named plaintiffs voluntarily sought to dismiss their remaining claims, and each of the named plaintiffs submitted a sworn declaration expressly agreeing to the conditions of dismissal. The court then granted plaintiffs' motion to voluntarily dismiss the remaining claims with prejudice under Rule 41(a)(2). The plaintiffs subsequently filed their notice of appeal with this court. 153 In October 1999, the defendants moved for, inter alia, immediate payment of all costs. Plaintiffs responded that they would seek a stay of payment pending appeal under Rule 62(d). On October 22, the district court granted defendants' motion for immediate payment, noting that the fundamental problem with the plaintiffs' position regarding costs is that the court specifically ordered that 'an award of reasonable costs will be a condition precedent' to voluntarily dismissal. Chavez v. Ill. State Police, No. 94 CV 5307 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 22, 1999) (quoting Chavez, 1999 WL 754681, at  (N.D. Ill. Sept. 9, 1999)). The court further stated that if plaintiffs wish to renege on their acceptance of this condition, they must establish that they misunderstood its nature, as a change of heart is not enough to reopen proceedings at this point. Id. Plaintiffs did not attempt to withdraw their motion to dismiss. 154 In late November the district court taxed costs in the amount of $22,800.72. Judge Manning reiterated that payment of costs was a condition precedent to her dismissal order, and that the costs award would need to be paid regardless of the result on appeal. Following that decision, the plaintiffs moved to alter or amend the judgment pursuant to Rule 59. Plaintiffs also moved for a stay of payment pending appeal. On January 13, 2000, the court denied plaintiffs' motion to alter or amend the judgment, but did grant the requested stay of payment. Shortly after, plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal from the court's cost orders, challenging the decision to tax costs as a condition on voluntarily dismissal with prejudice. 155 As we noted in our discussion of the Title VI claims, a court may include, in its order for voluntary dismissal, whatever terms and conditions it deems proper. Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(2). The district court has broad discretion in this respect, and we will overturn an imposition of conditions only if the court abused its discretion. See Babcock v. McDaniel, 148 F.3d 797, 799 (7th Cir. 1998); LeBlang Motors, Ltd. v. Subaru of America, Inc., 148 F.3d 680, 686 (7th Cir. 1998). Clearly, the court here did not abuse its discretion. Judge Manning repeatedly stressed the import of the plaintiffs' decision to voluntarily dismiss their claims. She decided not to assess attorneys' fees, as the parties would have incurred greater legal costs had they gone to trial, but did exercise her discretion to require the plaintiffs to pay costs as a condition of dismissal. The plaintiffs abandoned their arguably meritorious remaining claims; this type of decision should not be taken lightly, particularly after five years of briefing, discovery, motions, orders, and so forth. As noted by Judge Manning, the award of reasonable costs to the defendants reflects the court's decision that the price of a Rule 41(a)(2) voluntary dismissal with prejudice on the eve of trial in this hotly-litigated 1994 case is payment of reasonable costs. Chavez v. Ill. State Police, No. 94 CV 5307 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 19, 1999). It is true that a plaintiff seeking a voluntary dismissal is not required to accept whatever conditions the district court may impose. Marlow v. Winston & Strawn, 19 F.3d 300, 304 (7th Cir. 1994). The appropriate response, however, would be to decline to accept the conditions, not to accept them and then argue that their imposition was an abuse of discretion. Plaintiffs agreed to the district court's conditions and then dismissed their claims with prejudice. We find that the order requiring payment of costs as a prerequisite to voluntary dismissal did not constitute an abuse of discretion. Costs were properly assessed by the district court. 156 Because the plaintiffs have not prevailed on appeal, we need not reach the issue of whether it would have been proper to require plaintiffs to pay costs even if their appeal had been successful.