Acosta v. Monarcas Restaurant, LLC

Filing 24

ORDER dismissing this action with prejudice. The Clerk is directed to enter judgment, deny all pending motions, terminate all scheduled events, and close the case. Signed by Magistrate Judge Nicholas P. Mizell on 9/9/2021. (SM)

Case 2:21-cv-00189-NPM Document 24 Filed 09/09/21 Page 1 of 2 PageID 68

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
ESTRELLA ACOSTA, an individual,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 2:21-cv-189-NPM

REAL MONARCA, INC.,
Defendant.
ORDER
In this Fair Labor Standards Act case, the parties have filed a Stipulation of
Dismissal with Prejudice (Doc. 21). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(ii)
allows a plaintiff to dismiss an action voluntarily if a stipulation of dismissal is
signed by all parties who have appeared. The dismissal is effective upon filing and
requires no further action by the Court. See Anago Franchising, Inc. v. Shaz, LLC,
677 F.3d 1272, 1278 (11th Cir. 2012). The text of the FLSA does not provide, and
no Eleventh Circuit decision has ever held, that FLSA claims are exempt from Rule
41. To the contrary, the Eleventh Circuit has reasoned that the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure apply “in actions brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act no less than
in any other case.” Vasconcelo v. Miami Auto Max, Inc., 981 F.3d 934, 942 (11th
Cir. 2020) (holding that Rule 68’s cost-shifting provisions trump the FLSA’s costshifting provisions). And there is “no distinction” between the operation of Rule

Case 2:21-cv-00189-NPM Document 24 Filed 09/09/21 Page 2 of 2 PageID 69

41(a)(1)(A)(ii) and Rule 68 in an FLSA action. See Casso-Lopez v. Beach Time
Rental Suncoast, LLC, 335 F.R.D. 458, 461-462 (M.D. Fla. 2020) (Merryday, C.J.)
(holding parties may terminate an FLSA case by filing either a Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii)
stipulation of dismissal with prejudice or a Rule 68(a) notice of acceptance of an
offer of judgment “and the district court is immediately powerless to interfere”); see
also Dicomo v. KJIMS Dev. Co., Inc., No. 2:16-cv-327-FtM-99CM, 2016 WL
6678420, *1 (M.D. Fla. Nov. 14, 2016) (Steele, J.) (“[T]he parties may dismiss [an
FLSA] case in its entirety pursuant to the Joint Stipulation for Dismissal With
Prejudice without further action from the Court as it is unconditional and selfexecuting.”) (citing Anago); Marcucci v. Stefano’s Trattoria, Inc., No. 6:12-cv-440Orl-19GJK, 2012 WL 13136903, *2 (M.D. Fla. July 3, 2012) (Fawsett, J.) (same).
Here, the parties stipulate to dismissing this case with prejudice and with each
side to bear its own costs and fees, except as otherwise set forth in their confidential
settlement agreement. Accordingly, this action is dismissed with prejudice. The
Clerk is directed to enter judgment, deny all pending motions, terminate all
scheduled events, and close the case.
ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on September 9, 2021.

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