Court Opinion

ID: 9961707
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-04-19 16:01:04.715039+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:21:22.601554
License: Public Domain

USCA11 Case: 22-12917   Document: 56-1     Date Filed: 04/19/2024   Page: 1 of 3

                                                 [DO NOT PUBLISH]
                                 In the
                United States Court of Appeals
                        For the Eleventh Circuit

                         ____________________

                              No. 22-12917
                         Non-Argument Calendar
                         ____________________

       EUROBOOR BV, et al.,
                                         Plaintiﬀs-Counter Defendants,
       ALBERT KOSTER,
       EUROBOOR FZC,
                                         Plaintiﬀs-Counter Defendants
                                                           Appellants,
       versus
       ELENA GRAFOVA,

                                          Defendant-Counter Claimant
                                                            Appellee.
USCA11 Case: 22-12917      Document: 56-1       Date Filed: 04/19/2024     Page: 2 of 3

       2                       Opinion of the Court                  22-12917

                            ____________________

                  Appeal from the United States District Court
                     for the Northern District of Alabama
                      D.C. Docket No. 2:17-cv-02157-KOB
                           ____________________

       Before WILSON, GRANT, and ABUDU, Circuit Judges.
       PER CURIAM:
              Albert Koster and Euroboor FZC appeal from the district
       court’s amended final judgment in favor of the defendant. How-
       ever, the appeal is not final because all of the claims were not re-
       solved in the district court.
              Rule 41(a) permits a plaintiff to voluntarily dismiss an “ac-
       tion” by filing a stipulation of dismissal signed by all parties who
       have appeared. Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A)(ii). Here, the Rule 41(a)
       stipulation was ineffective because it did not dismiss the entire ac-
       tion. See Perry v. Schumacher Grp. of La., 891 F.3d 954, 958 (11th Cir.
       2018). It did not dismiss all claims or all counterclaims, and coun-
       terclaim count 4 remained pending. See id. (noting that a plaintiff
       cannot stipulate to dismissal of a portion of his lawsuit while leav-
       ing a different part of the lawsuit pending before the trial court).
       While Rule 41(a) also permits a plaintiff (or counter-plaintiff) to dis-
       miss all of his claims against a particular defendant (or counter-de-
       fendant), the stipulation did not do that either. See Rosell v. VMSB,
       LLC, 67 F.4th 1141, 1144 n.2 (11th Cir. 2023); Klay v. United
       Healthgroup, Inc., 376 F.3d 1092, 1106 (11th Cir. 2004). It purported
USCA11 Case: 22-12917      Document: 56-1     Date Filed: 04/19/2024     Page: 3 of 3

       22-12917               Opinion of the Court                         3

       to dismiss only some of the plaintiffs’ claims against Grafova and
       only some of Grafova’s counterclaims against two plaintiffs. See
       Klay, 376 F.3d at 1106 (noting that Rule 41 does not permit plaintiffs
       to pick and choose, dismissing only particular claims within an ac-
       tion); Rosell, 67 F.4th at 1143-44 (holding that there was no final
       decision in the action because the parties’ attempt to dismiss a sin-
       gle count under Rule 41(a) was ineffective). Therefore, the stipu-
       lation was invalid, and the district court could not cure that failure
       by entering an order under Rule 41(a)(2) that similarly purported
       to dismiss fewer than all the claims against one or more parties. See
       Rosell, 67 F.4th at 1144 & n.2; Sanchez, 84 F.4th at 1292-93.
              Accordingly, there is not a final judgment, and this appeal is
       DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction. All pending motions are de-
       nied as MOOT.