Perez v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc.

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA ORLANDO DIVISION

ASHLEY CARMELLA PEREZ,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No: 6:24-cv-1969-JSS-LHP

EQUIFAX INFORMATION SERVICES, LLC,

Defendant. ___________________________________/

ORDER

Plaintiff and Defendants Experian Information Solutions, Inc. and Oportun, Inc. have filed a purported stipulation of dismissal with prejudice as to Plaintiff’s claims against Experian and Oportun, contemplating that each party will bear its own attorney fees, costs, and expenses. (Dkt. 60.) The purported stipulation invokes Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(ii). (See Dkt. 60 at 1.) Rule 41(a) governs the voluntary dismissal of an “action,” and “in a multi-defendant lawsuit,” such as this case, the word “action” in the rule “can refer to all the claims against one party.” City of Jacksonville v. Jacksonville Hosp. Holdings, L.P., 82 F.4th 1031, 1037 (11th Cir. 2023) (quotation omitted). However, Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii), which enables a plaintiff to “dismiss an action without a court order by filing . . . a stipulation of dismissal signed by all parties who have appeared,” Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A)(ii), “requir[es] each and every party that has thus far appeared in a lawsuit to sign [the] stipulation of dismissal,” City of Jacksonville, 82 F.4th at 1038. The purported stipulation does not satisfy this requirement because it is not signed by Defendant Equifax Information Services LLC, (see Dkt. 60), which also appeared as a Defendant in this matter, (see Dkt. 52). Accordingly, the court construes the purported stipulation as a motion to dismiss under Rule 41(a)(2), which states that “[e]xcept as provided in Rule 41(a)(1), 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 court considers the purported stipulation’s terms to be proper and grants the construed motion to dismiss. Accordingly: 1. The construed motion to dismiss (Dkt. 60) is GRANTED. 2. Plaintiff's claims against Experian Information Solutions, Inc. and Oportun, Inc. are DISMISSED with prejudice. Plaintiff, Experian, and Oportun shall bear their own attorney fees, costs, and expenses. 3. This case remains closed. ORDERED in Orlando, Florida, on August 1, 2025. ge ceo JULIE S. SNEED UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE Copies furnished to: Counsel of Record

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