Hughes v. Bruner

Filing 38

ORDER DIRECTING Clerk of Court to CLOSE this CASE Pursuant to Plaintiff's 37 Notice of Voluntary Dismissal signed by District Judge Anthony W. Ishii on 6/3/2014. CASE CLOSED. (Sant Agata, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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BERNARD C. HUGHES,

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Plaintiff,
v.

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ROBERT BRUNER, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Case No.: 1:11-cv-00110-AWI-SAB (PC)
ORDER DIRECTING CLERK OF COURT TO
CLOSE THIS CASE PURSUANT TO
PLAINTIFF’S NOTICE OF VOLUNTARY
DISMISSAL
[ECF No. 37]

Plaintiff Bernard C. Hughes is appearing pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
On April 29, 2014, the Court granted Plaintiff one last opportunity to file a fourth amended
complaint within thirty days.
On June 2, 2014, Plaintiff filed a motion to withdraw the claim. (ECF No. 37.) Plaintiff

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indicates that he is unable to litigate this claim due to: (1) current psychotropic medications; (2) the

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claim is over five years old; and (3) the claim although valid is insubstantial to further clog this

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Court’s backlog of cases. Plaintiff requests the Court to allow him to withdraw the claim.

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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A) provides that “the plaintiff may dismiss an action

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without court order by filing: (i) a notice of dismissal before the opposing party serves either an

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answer or a motion for summary judgment; or (ii) a stipulation of dismissal signed by all parties who

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have appeared.” Voluntary dismissal under this rule requires no action on the part of the court and
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divests the court of jurisdiction upon the filing of the notice of voluntary dismissal. See, e.g., United

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States v. Real Property Located at 475 Martin Lane, Beverly Hills, CA, 545 F.3d 1134, 1145 (9th Cir.

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2008) (describing consequences of voluntary dismissal pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure

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41(a)(1)(A)).

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Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) does not require a particular form of a notice of dismissal. See Williams v.

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Ezell, 531 F.2d 1261, 1263 (5th Cir. 1976) (holding that a failure to cite Rule 41 was irrelevant, and

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giving no weight to plaintiff’s choice to title the document “motion to dismiss” as opposed to “notice

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of dismissal”). In addition, a notice of voluntary dismissal is effective at the moment it is filed, and no

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judicial approval or court order is required. Pedrina v. Chun, 987 F.2d 608 (9th Cir. 1993).

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At this stage in the proceedings, Plaintiff has the absolute right to dismiss his claims, without

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prejudice. Duke Energy Trading and Marketing, L.L.C. v. Davis, 267 F.3d 1042, 1049 (9th Cir.

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2001). Plaintiff’s notice of voluntary dismissal of the complaint itself has the effect of closing the

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action, and the Court no longer has jurisdiction over the claims. Id.

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Accordingly, the Clerk of the Court is HEREBY DIRECTED to close this file pursuant to
Plaintiff=s notice of voluntary dismissal filed on June 2, 2014.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: June 3, 2014

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SENIOR DISTRICT JUDGE

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