St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company et al v. Ohio Casualty Insurance Company et al

Filing 375

ORDER pursuant to 371 Stipulation of Dismissal : IT IS HEREBY ORDERED dismissing without prejudice ASIC from AIG's crossclaims. Signed by Senior Judge Stephen M McNamee on 6/25/2014. (ALS)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance
Company, Charter Oak Fire Insurance
Company, and Travelers Indemnity
Company of America,

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Plaintiffs,
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v.
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Lexington Insurance Company,
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American Home Insurance Company,
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Commerce & Industry Insurance
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Company, and Liberty Mutual Insurance )
Company,
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Defendants.
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Transportation Insurance Company and )
National Fire Insurance Company of
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Hartford,
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Cross-Claimants,
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v.
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Ohio Casualty Insurance Company,
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Maryland Casualty Company, American )
Safety Indemnity Company, Lexington )
Insurance Company, American Home
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Insurance Company, Commerce &
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Industry Insurance Company, Zurich
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American Insurance Company, Liberty )
Mutual Insurance Company, and
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American Guarantee & Liability
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Insurance Company,
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Cross-Defendants.
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No. CV-11-1954-PHX-SMM

ORDER

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Cross-Claimant,
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v.
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Ohio Casualty Insurance Company,
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American Safety Indemnity Company, )
Lexington Insurance Company,
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Transportation Insurance Company,
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American Home Insurance Company,
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Commerce & Industry Insurance
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Company, Liberty Mutual Insurance
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Company, and National Fire Insurance )
Company of Hartford,
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Cross-Defendants.
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American Home Insurance Company and )
Commerce & Industry Insurance
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Company,
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Counter/Cross-Claimants,
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v.
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St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance
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Company, Charter Oak Fire Insurance )
Company, Travelers Indemnity Company)
of America, Ohio Casualty Insurance
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Company, Maryland Casualty Company, )
American Safety Indemnity Company, )
Transportation Insurance Company,
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Zurich American Insurance Company, )
Liberty Mutual Insurance Company,
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National Fire Insurance Company of
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Hartford, and American Guarantee &
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Liability Insurance Company,
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Counter/Cross-Defendants. )
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Lexington Insurance Company,
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Counter/Cross-Claimant,
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v.
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St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance
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Company, Charter Oak Fire Insurance )
Zurich American Insurance Company,

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Company, Travelers Indemnity Company)
of America, Ohio Casualty Insurance
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Company, Maryland Casualty Company, )
American Safety Indemnity Company, )
Transportation Insurance Company,
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Zurich American Insurance Company, )
Liberty Mutual Insurance Company,
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National Fire Insurance Company of
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Hartford, and American Guarantee &
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Liability Insurance Company,
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Counter/Cross-Defendants. )
)

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Before the Court is a Stipulation of Dismissal between American Safety Indemnity

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Company (“ASIC”); and Lexington Insurance Company, American Home Assurance

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Company, and Commerce and Industry Insurance Company (collectively “AIG”). (Doc.

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371.)

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To be effective at this stage of the proceedings, a stipulated dismissal must be “signed

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by all parties who have appeared.” Fed R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A)(ii). There is non-binding

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authority to suggest that a stipulation signed by a plaintiff and some but not all defendants

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can be effective against those defendants who signed the stipulation. E.g., McNamara v.

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Edwards, 1993 WL 410689, 8 F.3d 28 (9th Cir. Oct. 15, 1993) (unpublished table decision).

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Alternatively, the Court may dismiss an action upon plaintiff’s request on terms the court

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considers proper. Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(2). Thus, the Court may consider a defective Rule

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41(a)(1)(A)(ii) dismissal signed by plaintiff pursuant to subsection (a)(2) of that Rule. Rule

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41 “applies to a dismissal of any counterclaim, crossclaim, or third-party claim.” Id. 41(c).

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ASIC is one of 11 Counter/Cross-Defendants to AIG’s counter/cross-claims. (Docs.

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153; 154; 155.) Some of AIG’s Cross-Defendants have their own crossclaims against ASIC.

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(Docs. 120; 132; 214.) However, the only parties that signed the instant stipulation are AIG

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and ASIC (Doc. 371); therefore, the stipulation is not signed by all the parties to the action,

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nor is it signed by all the parties to AIG’s crossclaim against ASIC. Notwithstanding the

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tangled and overlapping nature of the parties’ claims, the instant stipulation is narrowly

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limited to dismissal of ASIC from just AIG’s crossclaims, and not the crossclaims of other

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Cross-Claimants/Cross-Defendants. Under these terms, the Court considers dismissal of
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ASIC from all of AIG’s crossclaims—and only AIG’s crossclaims—to be proper.

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Accordingly,

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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED dismissing without prejudice ASIC from AIG’s

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crossclaims.
DATED this 25th day of June, 2014.

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