Voluntary dismissal


Voluntary dismissal is termination of a lawsuit by voluntary request of the plaintiff. A voluntary dismissal with prejudice is the modern descendant of the common law procedure known as retraxit.
In the United States, voluntary dismissal in Federal court is subject to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 41's full text can be found below. Simply stated, Rule 41 allows the plaintiff to make a dismissal as long as the defendant has not filed an answer or filed a motion for summary judgment.
If the defendant has taken such action, dismissal is only proper under two circumstances:
a. all defendants stipulate to dismissal; or
b. the judge overseeing the case rules for the case to be dismissed
Once the case has been voluntarily dismissed, if it is brought to court again a dismissal in this second case will mean the case can never again be brought back to court.
If the defendant has a counterclaim, the case can only be dismissed if the counterclaim can still stand as its own case.
Full text of Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure:
Voluntary Dismissal: Effect Thereof