Herrera v. County of Fresno

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

CARLOS HERRERA, et al., CASE NO. 1:18-CV-1297 AWI EPG Plaintiffs ORDER CLOSING CASE IN LIGHT OF STIPULATION FOR DISMISSAL v. WITHOUT PREJUDICE

COUNTY OF FRESNO, et al., (Doc. No. 59)

Defendants

On December 21, 2020, the parties filed a what is styled as a joint motion to dismiss. See Doc. No. 59. Despite identifying the document on the docket as a motion and styling the document as a motion, the document is in fact a stipulation to dismiss this case with prejudice. See id. The stipulation is signed by all parties, so the Court interprets the stipulation to be one under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1).

Rule 41(a)(1), in relevant part, reads:

(A) . . . the plaintiff may dismiss an action without a court order by filing: (i) a notice of dismissal before the opposing party serves either an answer or a motion for summary judgment; or (ii) a stipulation of dismissal signed by all parties who have appeared. . . . (B) Unless the notice or stipulation states otherwise, the dismissal is without prejudice.

Dismissals under Rule 41(a)(1)(A), when properly filed, are effective immediately and do not require a court order/court approval. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1); Yesh Music v. Lakewood Church, 727 F.3d 356, 362 (5th Cir. 2013); Commercial Space Mgmt. Co. v. Boeing Co., 193 F.3d 28

I 1074, 1077 (9th Cir. 1999); Wilson v. City of San Jose, 111 F.3d 688, 692 (9th Cir. 1997); In re 2, | Wolf, 842 F.2d 464, 466 (D.C. Cir. 1989).

Here, again all parties who have appeared in this case have signed the stipulated dismissal. See Doc. No. 9. Because all appearing parties have signed the stipulated dismissal with prejudice, this case has terminated automatically. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A); Yesh Music, 727 F.3d at 362; Commercial Space, 193 F.3d at 1077. Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Clerk is to CLOSE this case in light of the parties’ filed and properly signed Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(a1) stipulation of dismissal with prejudice (Doc. No. 59).

IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: _ January 8, 2021 : : _-SENIOR DISTRICT JUDGE