Opinion ID: 2805159
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Voluntary Dismissal and Amended Pleadings

Text: Before we can understand the effect of Taylor’s attempt to accept the magistrate judge’s proposal in the show-cause order, we must be clear about exactly what that proposal was—or, rather, what it should have been. The order to show cause said that Taylor could “avoid the financial burden of a new filing fee by filing a motion to voluntarily dismiss Count 1 or Count 3.” Taylor’s response mirrored the magistrate judge’s own language and asked to voluntarily dismiss the claim against Officer Brown. Although the court had the power to achieve its intended result—one claim dropped from the case while the other progressed—it used the wrong means. Voluntary dismissal by court order under Rule 41(a)(2) allows the plaintiff to dismiss “an action” on “terms that the court considers proper.” FED. R. CIV. P. 41(a)(2). Although some courts have held otherwise, we’ve said that Rule 41(a) “does not speak of dismissing one claim in a suit; it speaks of dismissing ‘an action’—which is to say, the whole case.” Berthold Types Ltd. v. Adobe Sys. Inc., 242 F.3d 772, 777 (7th Cir. 2001); see also Nelson v. Napolitano, 657 F.3d 586, 588 (7th Cir. 2011) (noting that “the purpose of Rule 41(a)(1) is to No. 12-1710 11 limit a plaintiff’s ability to dismiss an action” (citing Cooter & Gell v. Hartmarx Corp., 496 U.S. 384, 397 (1990))). Berthold Types and Nelson both concerned Rule 41(a)(1)(A), which allows for voluntarily dismissal without a court order, rather than 41(a)(2), but both provisions refer exclusively to “actions”—which, as Berthold Types said, means the entire case.6 Since “[w]e give the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure their plain meaning,” Pavelic & LeFlore v. Marvel Entm’t Grp., 493 U.S. 120, 123 (1989), Rule 41(a) should be limited to dismissal of an entire action.7 6 We recognize that prior to Berthold Types, we were not always clear about whether Rule 41(a) could be used to dismiss individual claims. See, e.g., Baker v. Am.’s Mortg. Serv., Inc., 58 F.3d 321, 324 n.2 (7th Cir. 1995) (noting that this court has not yet defined the scope of Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) and assuming without deciding that a partial dismissal is acceptable); Winterland Concessions Co. v. Smith, 706 F.2d 793, 796 (7th Cir. 1983) (assuming arguendo that Rule 41(a) applies only to an entire action while noting that some courts had rejected that view). Other circuits appear divided. Compare Bailey v. Shell W. E&P, Inc., 609 F.3d 710, 719–20 (5th Cir. 2010) (“Rule 41(a) dismissal only applies to the dismissal of an entire action—not particular claims,” therefore, “[g]enerally, Rule 41(a)(1) dismissal results in immediate termination of the suit.”), with Wilson v. City of San Jose, 111 F.3d 688, 692 (9th Cir. 1997) (“The plaintiff may dismiss some or all of the defendants, or some or all of his claims, through a Rule 41(a)(1) notice.”). 7 This interpretation is strengthened by the fact that Rule 41(b), which concerns involuntary dismissal, expressly provides that a defendant may move to dismiss “the action or any claim against it” for failure to prosecute or comply with a rule or order. FED. R. CIV. P. 41(b) (emphasis added). The fact that the drafters of the rules clearly included both “actions” and “claims” in Rule 41(b) but only mentioned “actions” in Rule 41(a) is a strong indication that they intended there to be a distinction between the two provisions. 12 No. 12-1710 Because the court offered Taylor the opportunity to dismiss the claim against Officer Brown in the 104 Case while pursuing the claim against the Count 1 defendants, Rule 41(a) was not the proper vehicle.8 Instead, the court should have offered Taylor the opportunity to amend his pleadings under Rule 15(a). Like Rule 41(a), Rule 15(a) allows a plaintiff to amend his complaint—including by adding or dropping parties and claims—as a matter of right in some situations and by court order in others, and “[t]he court should freely give leave when justice so requires.” FED. R. CIV. P. 15(a)(2). 8 Taylor suggests that we could have resolved his case under a different provision of Rule 41(a)—Rule 41(a)(1)(A), which permits parties to stipulate to the dismissal of an action without requiring leave of the court. His position is that both parties stipulated to the dismissal of the 631 Case as of the filing of Officer Brown’s motion to dismiss. But while such a stipulation would have dismissed Taylor’s claim against Officer Brown without prejudice, it would not have relieved Taylor from his obligation to pay the $350 filing fee. To voluntarily dismiss the 631 Case is to presume that it properly came into being, and if it properly came into being, then the filing fee is owed no matter when or how the case was resolved. See 28 U.S.C. 1914(a) (“The clerk ... shall require the parties instituting any civil action, ... whether by original process, removal or otherwise, to pay a filing fee of $350 ... .” (emphasis added)); Szabo Food Serv., Inc. v. Canteen Corp., 823 F.2d 1073, 1078–79 (7th Cir. 1987) (“You can only get so far with the comparison [of a voluntary dismissal] to a suit never filed, however. Suppose the plaintiff files suit and pays the filing fee with a rubber check, then orders a transcript of some preliminary proceedings … and dismisses under Rule 41(a)(1)[A](i). Does the plaintiff avoid paying the docket fee and the court reporter on the ground that ‘[i]t is as if the suit had never been brought’? Neither filing fees nor reporters need be paid when suit is never filed, yet the plaintiff must pay up nonetheless.”). A plaintiff does not have to pay the filing fee for a case that was wrongfully severed over his objection, however. No. 12-1710 13 Accordingly, we construe Taylor’s response to the showcause order as a motion to amend his complaint under Rule 15(a)(2) rather than as a motion to voluntarily dismiss an action under Rule 41(a). See McGee v. Bartow, 593 F.3d 556, 565 (7th Cir. 2010) (filings by pro se litigants are to be construed liberally). But for consistency’s sake, we will continue to refer to Taylor’s attempt to drop his claim against Officer Brown as an attempt at voluntary dismissal.9