Opinion ID: 566829
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Voluntary Dismissal of Entire Action

Text: 17 The Company next argues that the district court erred in interpreting Wilson's August 22, 1989, notice of voluntary dismissal as effecting dismissal of the entire action. It maintains that Wilson filed three separate notices of dismissal, each seeking to dismiss only portions of the action and that, because Rule 41(a)(1)(i) applies only to dismissal of entire actions, each notice is invalid. Wilson's August 22, 1989, notice stated: 18 Plaintiff, Jon S. Wilson, by counsel, and pursuant to the provisions of Rule 41(a), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, hereby give[s] notice of the dismissal of all claims set forth in the plaintiff's Amended Complaint over which the Court has retained jurisdiction pursuant to its Orders and Memorandum Opinion filed in this action on August 18, 1989, including the claims of Count III, Count IV, Count V, and Count VI of the Amended Complaint. 19 The district court found that, given the uncertainty surrounding the issue of jurisdiction, the wording of the notice was sufficient to contradict any implication that this was only an attempt at a partial dismissal. 3 We find that conclusion persuasive. It is true that the court had granted the Company's Rule 12(b)(6) motion as to part of the complaint. In our view, however, the effect of that order was to tailor the complaint to its final form. In other words, the counts remaining after the partial dismissal then comprised the entire action for Rule 41(a)(1)(i) purposes.