US Bank National Association v. Elizabeth Haring

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Decided: June 28, 2024
• Docket: 23-1228
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

USCA4 Appeal: 23-1228 Doc: 42 Filed: 06/28/2024 Pg: 1 of 4

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 23-1228

US BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, as Trustee of Cabana Series III Trust,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

ELIZABETH HARING,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Harrisonburg. Michael F. Urbanski, Chief District Judge. (5:19-cv-00088-MFU-JCH)

Submitted: June 18, 2024 Decided: June 28, 2024

Before KING and WYNN, Circuit Judges, and TRAXLER, Senior Circuit Judge.

Vacated and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.

ON BRIEF: Henry W. McLaughlin, III, THE LAW OFFICE OF HENRY MCLAUGHLIN, PC, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellant. Diana C. Theologou, MCMICHAEL TAYLOR GRAY LLC, Frederick, Maryland, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. USCA4 Appeal: 23-1228 Doc: 42 Filed: 06/28/2024 Pg: 2 of 4

PER CURIAM:

Elizabeth Haring appeals the district court’s order granting US Bank National

Association’s (“US Bank”) motion to voluntarily dismiss without prejudice its unlawful

detainer action. Haring contends that the district court erred by denying her request that

the court condition the dismissal upon US Bank paying her reasonable attorney’s fees,

costs, and expenses, and barring US Bank from any claim for damages, including rental

value and attorney’s fees, if it refiles this unlawful detainer action.

After an opposing party serves its answer, “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). We review for an abuse of discretion the district court’s order granting a

Rule 41(a) motion for voluntary dismissal. Davis v. USX Corp., 819 F.2d 1270, 1273

(4th Cir. 1987). When deciding a Rule 41(a) motion, the district court should consider “the

opposing party’s effort and expense in preparing for trial, excessive delay and lack of

diligence on the part of the movant, . . . insufficient explanation of the need for a

dismissal, . . . [and] the present stage of litigation.” Phillips USA, Inc. v. Allflex USA, Inc.,

77 F.3d 354, 358 (10th Cir. 1996) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted).

“The purpose of Rule 41(a)(2) is freely to allow voluntary dismissals unless the

parties will be unfairly prejudiced.” Davis, 819 F.2d at 1273. “[T]o obviate any prejudice

to the defendants which may otherwise result from dismissal without prejudice,” the Rule

“permits the district court to impose conditions on voluntary dismissal.” Id. “[P]rotecting

the interests of the defendant” must be the district court’s primary consideration when

deciding a Rule 41(a)(2) motion. Id.

2 USCA4 Appeal: 23-1228 Doc: 42 Filed: 06/28/2024 Pg: 3 of 4

The district court granted US Bank’s motion to dismiss without prejudice after

finding that the case “had not preceded to a point where voluntary dismissal would

prejudice any party.” The court declined to impose Haring’s requested conditions,

explaining that the conditions were not appropriate because US Bank sought voluntary

dismissal based on recent events outside of US Bank’s control. In making these

determinations, however, the district court did not address Haring’s contention that she

would be substantially prejudiced if US Bank were to refile an unlawful detainer action

and include a claim for rental value.

Haring notes that, in recommending that the district court deny US Bank’s motion

for summary judgment, the magistrate judge found that there existed a genuine issue of

fact as to whether Haring was in possession of the subject property at the time US Bank

filed its complaint and that such possession was an essential element of US Bank’s

unlawful detainer action. Haring asserts that, after filing the action, US Bank returned

possession to her, thereby purporting to resolve an issue identified by the district court. 1

She contends that, if US Bank is permitted to refile an unlawful detainer action and seek

damages in the form of rental value—when it did not seek such relief in the underlying

action—she will likely suffer substantial prejudice. Because “protecting the interests of

the defendant” must be the district court’s primary consideration when deciding a

Rule 41(a)(2) motion, Davis, 819 F.2d at 1273, and because the district court did not

1 The district court adopted the magistrate judge’s recommendation to deny US Bank’s motion for summary judgment, concluding that there existed a genuine issue of fact as to whether US Bank or Haring had possession of the property at the time US Bank filed the unlawful detainer action. 3 USCA4 Appeal: 23-1228 Doc: 42 Filed: 06/28/2024 Pg: 4 of 4

address the potential prejudice Haring faces if US Bank refiles the unlawful detainer action

and includes a claim for rental value, we vacate the district court’s order and remand for

further proceedings. 2

We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are

adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the

decisional process.

VACATED AND REMANDED

2 We express no opinion on the ultimate resolution of the motion. 4