Transcontinental Refrigerated Lines Inc v. New Prime Inc et al

Filing 170

ORDER - It is hereby ORDERED that: 1. Joint notice of settlement 166 is STRICKEN.; 2. W/in 7 days of date of this order, parties shall file stip of dismissal signed by all parties to the action...; 3. Any filing pursuant to Para 2 shall clearly ID claims & parties to be dismissed & indicate whether claims are to be dismissed w/ prejudice or w/out... (See order for complete details.) Signed by Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner on 7/31/15. (ki)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
TRANSCONTINENTAL
REFRIGERATED LINES, by
LAWRENCE V. YOUNG, ESQ.,
Liquidating Agent,
Plaintiff
v.
NEW PRIME, INC., et al.,
Defendants

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CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:13-CV-2163
(Chief Judge Conner)

ORDER
AND NOW, this 31st day of July, 2015, upon consideration of the notice of
settlement (Doc. 166) filed jointly by plaintiff debtor Transcontinental Refrigerated
Lines, Inc., (“Transcontinental”), and defendant New Prime, Inc., (“New Prime”),
informing the court of a settlement agreement reached between Transcontinental
and New Prime, and advising that various pending motions are or will be rendered
moot thereby, but the court noting that a plaintiff may voluntarily dismiss an action
by notice only when the opposing party has not served an answer or a motion for
summary judgment, see FED. R. CIV. P. 41(a)(1)(A)(i), or by stipulation signed by all
parties who have appeared, see FED. R. CIV. P. 41(a)(1)(A)(ii), and that neither of the
provisions for dismissal by notice or stipulation are satisfied sub judice, but the
court observing that Rule 41 further permits a plaintiff to otherwise file a motion to

dismiss an action by court order on terms that the court deems proper, see Fed. R.
Civ. P. 41(a)(2); see also Dodge-Regupol, Inc. v. RB Rubber Prods., Inc., 585 F.
Supp. 2d 645, 652 (M.D. Pa. 2008) (enumerating factors relevant to the court’s
analysis under Rule 41(a)(2)),1 it is hereby ORDERED that:
1.

The parties’ joint notice of settlement (Doc. 166) is STRICKEN.

2.

Within seven (7) days of the date of this order, the parties shall file a
stipulation of dismissal signed by all parties to the action, see FED. R.
CIV. P. 41(a)(1)(a)(ii), or a motion to dismiss, see FED. R. CIV. P. 41(a)(2).

3.

Any filing pursuant to ¶ 2 shall clearly identify the claims and parties
to be dismissed, and indicate whether the claims are to be dismissed
with prejudice or without. Cf. FED. R. CIV. P. 41(a)(1)(B), (2) (noting
that, unless otherwise indicated by the parties or the court, dismissal
shall be without prejudice).

/S/ CHRISTOPHER C. CONNER
Christopher C. Conner, Chief Judge
United States District Court
Middle District of Pennsylvania

1

The instant notice does not take the form of a motion as contemplated by
Rule 41(a)(2). Nor does it identify which claims and counterclaims are subject to the
proposed dismissal or whether those claims should be dismissed with prejudice or
without. As a consequence, the court declines to construe the instant notice as a
Rule 41(a)(2) motion.
2