Hinson v. County of Volusia

• Court: District Court, M.D. Florida
• Decided: May 20, 2025
• Docket: 6:23-cv-02394
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA ORLANDO DIVISION MALIK HINSON,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No. 6:23-cv-2394-JSS-LHP

COUNTY OF VOLUSIA,

Defendant. /

ORDER Plaintiff, Malik Hinson, and Defendant, the County of Volusia, have filed a Stipulation of Voluntary Dismissal pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(ii). (Dkt. 22.) Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii) permits a plaintiff to voluntarily dismiss his case by filing a joint “stipulation of dismissal signed by all parties who have appeared.” However, the stipulation filed by the parties here was not signed by Jeremy Faircloth, who appeared in this matter as a defendant but has since been terminated. (See id.) See City of Jacksonville v. Jacksonville Hosp. Holdings, 82 F.4th 1031, 1038 (11th Cir. 2023) (“[A] Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii) stipulation also requires the signature of a party that appeared but has already been removed from an action.”). Mr. Faircloth subsequently filed a “Joinder of Stipulation of Voluntary Dismissal,” purporting to join the stipulation. (Dkt. 23.) However, it does not appear that a separate notice of joinder satisfies Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii)’s requirement of “a stipulation of dismissal,” which appears to contemplate a single document “signed by all parties who have appeared” rather than the piecemeal stipulations presented here. See City of Jacksonville, 82 F.4th at 1038 (noting that federal courts must “give the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure their plain meaning” (quotation omitted)). Accordingly, the court construes the stipulation as a motion to dismiss this case under Rule 41(a)(2), which provides for dismissal upon court order “on terms that the court considers proper.” See Sanchez v. Discount Rock & Sand, Inc., 84 F.4th 1283, 1292 (11th Cir. 2023) (“Rule 41(a)(2), by its plain language, doesn’t require a motion ...[a]nd, several times, we’ve approved dismissal orders that treated Rule 41(a)(1)(A) notices and stipulations as requests for a Rule 41(a)(2) court order.”). The court finds the terms the parties seek in the stipulation to be proper, and so grants Plaintiff's construed motion for dismissal under Rule 41(a)(2). Accordingly, this case is DISMISSED with prejudice. The parties shall bear their own fees and costs. The Clerk is DIRECTED to terminate any pending motions and deadlines and to close this case. ORDERED in Orlando, Florida, on May 20, 2025.

( ye heh teak JUVIE S. SNEED UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE Copies furnished to: Counsel of Record

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