Opinion ID: 1219144
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: R.C.P. 11 provides, in pertinent part:

Text: Reasonable expenses, including a reasonable attorney's fee, shall not be assessed if, after filing, a voluntary dismissal or withdrawal is filed as to any claim, action or defense, within a reasonable time after the attorney or party filing the pleading knew, or reasonably should have known, that he would not prevail on said claim, action, or defense. AWDI argues that the trial court could not impose attorney fees as a term or condition of dismissal under C.R.C.P. 41(a)(2) in the absence of a finding that AWDI did not move to dismiss within a reasonable time after it knew or reasonably should have known that it would not prevail on its tributary claim, as required by section 13-17-102(5) and C.R.C.P. 11. AWDI asserts that both those provisions are applicable whenever payment of attorney fees is imposed upon a party incident to dismissal of a claim, including dismissals under C.R.C.P. 41(a)(2). Preliminarily, we note that AWDI offers no case support for its assertion that section 13-17-102(5) and Rule 11 apply to limit a trial court's discretion to impose terms and conditions on a grant of voluntary dismissal under Rule 41(a)(2). The limited number of Colorado cases that have interpreted the latter rule have never mentioned any limitation of that kind. See Tillery v. District Ct., 692 P.2d 1079, 1084 (Colo.1984) (trial court may award costs and fees to defendant as a term and condition of voluntary dismissal); Powers v. Professional Rodeo Cowboys, 832 P.2d 1099, 1102 (Colo.App.1992) (same). More importantly, the purpose of Rule 41 is different than the objectives of section 13-17-102(5) and Rule 11. The language of both section 13-17-102 and Rule 11 expresses an intention to sanction a party who has continued to pursue a claim after the party or its attorney knew or should have known that the party would not prevail, i.e., that the claim is not meritorious. [40] No such language is present within Rule 41(a)(2). [41] Rule 41(a)(2) is intended to give the plaintiff the right to dismiss a claim that may later become viable or may be asserted later in a different forum, provided the court can ensure the defendant will not be unfairly prejudiced. Tillery, 692 P.2d at 1084; accord McCall-Bey v. Franzen, 777 F.2d 1178, 1184 (7th Cir.1985) (terms and conditions imposed pursuant to Rule 41(a)(2) are the quid pro quo of allowing plaintiff to dismiss a potentially meritorious claim without being prevented by the doctrine of res judicata from bringing the same suit again); GAF Corp., 665 F.2d at 369 ([n]o matter how conscientious and diligent [plaintiff] may have been, [defendant] suffered some costs by defending this action... and [defendant] is entitled to such reimbursement of those costs as the court may order); LeCompte, 528 F.2d at 604 (Rule 41(a)(2) allows the plaintiff to withdraw his action from the court without prejudice to future litigation); 9 Wright & Miller § 2362. According to Tillery, a plaintiff's Rule 41(a)(2) motion to dismiss voluntarily without prejudice generally should be granted, Tillery, 692 P.2d at 1085, but the court must first determine that any harm to the defendant may be avoided by imposing terms and conditions of dismissal. Thus, a court's focus when determining appropriate terms and conditions under C.R.C.P. 41(a)(2) is necessarily on a remedy for the defendant, not punishment of the plaintiff. Rule 41(a)(2) provides a means for preserving a potentially meritorious claim for another day or another forum provided that conditions of dismissal can be devised to protect the defendants from prejudice. Section 13-17-102(5) and Rule 11, on the other hand, are intended to protect a plaintiff from imposition of attorney fees upon dismissal of an unmeritorious claim provided that the plaintiff seeks dismissal promptly after learning that the claim cannot prevail. Although AWDI asserts that allegedly erroneous pretrial rulings by the trial court destroyed the prospects for success in establishing the tributary claim, AWDI has never conceded or suggested that such a claim was not meritorious or that it will not reassert such a claim in the future. We therefore reject AWDI's argument that imposition of a requirement of payment of attorney fees as a condition of voluntary dismissal without prejudice of a claim under C.R.C.P. 41(a)(2) violates either section 13-17-102(5) or C.R.C.P. 11.