Mello v. Aguiar et al

Filing 17

ORDER GRANTING Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to Rule 41 10 ; ORDER DISMISSING Action in its Entirety Without Prejudice; ORDER DIRECTING Clerk to Close File, signed by District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill on 8/14/12. (CASE CLOSED)(Hellings, J)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 WILLIAM DOUGLAS MELLO, 12 Plaintiff, 13 14 1:10-cv-00828-LJO-GSA-PC ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS PURSUANT TO RULE 41 (Doc. 10.) v. F. AGUIAR, et al., ORDER DISMISSING ACTION IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT PREJUDICE 15 Defendants. ORDER DIRECTING CLERK TO CLOSE FILE 16 / 17 18 I. BACKGROUND 19 William Douglas Mello (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma 20 pauperis in this civil rights action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff filed the complaint 21 commencing this action on May 12, 2010. (Doc. 1.) On July 6, 2010, Plaintiff filed an amended 22 complaint. (Doc. 9.) On July 26, 2012, the Court issued an order dismissing the amended 23 complaint, for failure to state a claim, with leave to amend. (Doc. 15.) 24 25 On August 13, 2012, Plaintiff filed a motion to voluntarily dismiss this action. (Doc. 16.) II. RULE 41 DISMISSAL OF ACTION 26 In Wilson v. City of San Jose, the Ninth Circuit explained: 27 Under Rule 41(a)(1), a plaintiff has an absolute right to voluntarily dismiss his action prior to service by the defendant of an answer or a motion for summary judgment. Concha v. London, 62 F.3d 1493, 1506 (9th Cir. 1995) (citing Hamilton 28 1 1 7 v. Shearson-Lehman American Express, 813 F.2d 1532, 1534 (9th Cir. 1987)). A plaintiff may dismiss his action so long as the plaintiff files a notice of dismissal prior to the defendant’s service of an answer or motion for summary judgment. The dismissal is effective on filing and no court order is required. Id. The plaintiff may dismiss some or all of the defendants, or some or all of his claims, through a Rule 41(a)(1) notice. Id.; Pedrina v. Chun, 987 F.2d 608, 609-10 (9th Cir. 1993). The filing of a notice of voluntary dismissal with the court automatically terminates the action as to the defendants who are the subjects of the notice. Concha, 62 F.2d at 1506. Unless otherwise stated, the dismissal is ordinarily without prejudice to the plaintiff's right to commence another action for the same cause against the same defendants. Id. (citing McKenzie v. Davenport-Harris Funeral Home, 834 F.2d 930, 934-35 (9th Cir. 1987)). Such a dismissal leaves the parties as though no action had been brought. Id. 8 Wilson v. City of San Jose, 111 F.3d 688, 692 (9th Cir. 1997). No defendant has filed an answer or 9 motion for summary judgment in this action. Therefore, Plaintiff’s motion shall be granted. 2 3 4 5 6 10 IV. CONCLUSION 11 Accordingly, based on the foregoing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 12 1. Plaintiff’s motion to voluntarily dismiss the complaint is GRANTED; 13 2. This action is DISMISSED in its entirety without prejudice; and 14 3. The Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to close the file in this case and adjust the 15 docket to reflect voluntary dismissal of this action pursuant to Rule 41(a). 16 17 IT IS SO ORDERED. 18 Dated: 66h44d August 14, 2012 /s/ Lawrence J. O'Neill UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2

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