Williams et al v. Georgia Power et al

Filing 12

ORDER granting #11 Motion to Dismiss, directing the Clerk to terminate all motions and deadlines, if any, and close this case, and further directing the Clerk to serve a courtesy copy of this Order on the Clerk of the Superior Court of Taliaferro County. Signed by District Judge J. Randal Hall on 06/04/2024. (jlh)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
AUGUSTA DIVISION

SEAN WILLIAMS and JANICE

*

WILLIAMS,

*
*

Plaintiffs,

*
*

V.

CV 124-051

*
*

GEORGIA POWER and COMTRAN

*

GROUP INC.,

*
*

Defendants.

*

ORDER

Before the Court is Plaintiffs' motion to dismiss.

11.)

(Doc.

When a plaintiff moves to voluntarily dismiss an action, the

motion is governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a).
Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)-(2).

See

Because Plaintiffs do not specify

which part of Rule 41(a) they move under, the Court analyzes
Plaintiffs' motion under Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i), 41(a)(1)(A)(ii), and
41(a)(2) .

Neither Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) nor 41(a)(1)(A)(ii) apply.

Rule

41(a)(1)(A)(i) allows a plaintiff to dismiss an action without a
court order by filing a notice of dismissal anytime before the
opposing party files an answer or motion for summary judgment.
Here, both Defendants Georgia Power and ComTran Group Inc. filed
answers, so Plaintiffs may not use Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i).
1-1, at 23-27; Doc. 10, at 1.)

plaintiff

may

voluntarily

(See Doc.

Under Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii), a

dismiss

a

lawsuit

by

filing

"a

stipulation of dismissal signed by all parties who have appeared."
But

here,

only

Plaintiffs

signed

the

motion,

so

Rule

41(a)(1)(A)(ii) is equally inapplicable.
That

leaves

Rule

41(a)(2).

Rule

41(a)(2)

provides,

in

relevant part, "an action may be dismissed at the plaintiff's
request only by court order, on terms that the court considers

proper."

Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(2).

The Rule exists "primarily to

prevent voluntary dismissals which unfairly affect the other side,
and to permit the imposition of curative conditions."
Ford

Motor

Co.,

781

F.2d

855,

856

(11th

Cir.

McCants v.

1986) (quoting

Alamance Indus., Inc. v. Filene's, 291 F.2d 142, 146 (1st Cir.
1961)).

For this reason, when addressing a motion for voluntary

dismissal without prejudice, district courts are instructed to

"bear in mind principally the interests of the defendant, for it
is the defendant's position that the court should protect."

Id.

"[I]n most cases a dismissal should be granted unless the

defendant will suffer clear legal prejudice, other than the mere

prospect of a subsequent lawsuit, as a result."

(emphasis in original).

Id. at 856-57

To determine whether dismissal is proper,

"the court should . . . weigh the relevant equities and do justice
between the parties in each case, imposing such costs and attaching
such conditions to the dismissal as are deemed appropriate." Arias
V.

Cameron,

omitted).

776

F.3d

1262,

1269

(11th

Cir.

2015)

(citation

In making a voluntary dismissal determination, "[a]

district court enjoys broad discretion."

Id. at 1268.

The

Court finds

the

relevant equities

weigh in favor of

granting Plaintiffs' motion for voluntary dismissal.
776 F.3d at 1269.

See Arias,

Plaintiffs brought suit against Defendants

because they "were never informed of [Defendant] Georgia Power's
construction
issue.

easement

when

(Doc. 11, at 1.)

[they]

purchased

the

property"

at

However, Plaintiffs represent their

"safety concerns were properly answered by [Defendant] Georgia
Power."

(Id.)

Defendants did not respond to Plaintiffs' motion,

and the deadline to do so has passed.

deemed unopposed.

Thus, Plaintiffs' motion is

L.R. 7.5, SDGa.

For these reasons, the

Court finds dismissal under Rule 41(a)(2) appropriate.

For the foregoing reasons. Plaintiffs' motion to dismiss
(Doc, 11) is GRANTED.

The Clerk is DIRECTED to TERMINATE all

motions and deadlines, if any, and CLOSE this case.

Given that

the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation recommended this
case be dismissed as frivolous and

that it be remanded to the

Superior Court of Taliaferro County, out of an abundance of caution
the Clerk is FURTHER DIRECTED to serve a courtesy copy of this
Order on the Clerk of the Superior Court of Taliaferro County.
ORDER ENTERED at Augusta, Georgia, this

day of June,

2024.

HONORldLE J. RANDAL HALL
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA