Eckart et al v. Bank of America, N.A. et al

Filing 28

MINUTE ORDER by Magistrate Judge Kristen L. Mix on 9/10/14. Motion to Dismiss Without Prejudice Defendants Nationstar Mortgage, LLC and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development 27 is DENIED without prejudice.(lgale)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Civil Action No. 14-cv-00956-KLM
JAMES ECKART, and
MARGARET COVEN ECKART,
Plaintiffs,
v.
BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,
NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC, and
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT,
Defendants.
_____________________________________________________________________
MINUTE ORDER
_____________________________________________________________________
ENTERED BY MAGISTRATE JUDGE KRISTEN L. MIX
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Motion to Dismiss Without Prejudice
Defendants Nationstar Mortgage, LLC and the United States Department of Housing
and Urban Development [#27] (the “Motion”).
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Motion [#27] is DENIED without prejudice. The
Motion is denied without prejudice as to the dismissal of Defendant United States
Department of Housing and Urban Development. Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A)(i) permits the
voluntary dismissal of a defendant by the plaintiffs before that defendant has filed an
answer or a motion for summary judgment, without entry of a Court order. Defendant
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development has not yet filed an answer
or a motion for summary judgment. Thus, Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A) permits the relief
sought by Plaintiffs without the necessity of a Court order, so long as Plaintiff files a “notice
of dismissal” or a “stipulation of dismissal signed by all parties.” Here, Plaintiff filed a
motion. Because this case has been assigned to Magistrate Judge Mix pursuant to the
Pilot Project to Implement the Direct Assignment of Civil Cases to Full Time Magistrate
Judges, the parties must file the Consent Form indicating either the unanimous consent of
the parties or that consent has been declined before any dismissal requiring a Court order
may be entered. See [#5].
The Motion is also denied without prejudice as to the dismissal of Defendant
Nationstar Mortgage, LLC, which has already filed an Answer [#12] in this lawsuit. Plaintiffs
may seek dismissal of this Defendant under Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A)(ii), which allows for
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voluntary dismissal without a Court order by filing a stipulation of dismissal signed by all
parties who have appeared.
Dated: September 10, 2014

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