Civil procedure: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: Voluntary dismissal + Involuntary dismissal + settlement

Voluntary dismissal is termination of a lawsuit by voluntary request of the plaintiff (the party who originally filed the lawsuit). A voluntary dismissal with prejudice (meaning the plaintiff is permanently barred from further litigating the same subject matter) is the modern descendant of the common law procedure known as retraxit.

In the United States, voluntary dismissal in Federal court is subject to Rule 41(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 41(a)'s full text can be found below. Simply stated, Rule 41(a) allows the plaintiff to make a dismissal as long as the defendant has not filed an answer or filed a motion for summary judgment.

If the defendant has taken such action, dismissal is only proper under two circumstances:

a. all defendants stipulate to dismissal; or

b. the judge overseeing the case rules for the case to be dismissed

Once the case has been voluntarily dismissed, if it is brought to court again a dismissal in this second case will mean the case can never again be brought back to court.

If the defendant has a counterclaim, the case can only be dismissed if the counterclaim can still stand as its own case.

Involuntary dismissal is the termination of a court case despite the plaintiff's objection.

In United States federal courts, involuntary dismissal is governed by Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) Rule 41(b).

Involuntary dismissal is made by a defendant through a motion for dismissal, on grounds that plaintiff is not prosecuting the case, is not complying with a court order, or to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Involuntary dismissal can also be made by order of the judge when no defendant has made a motion to dismiss. Involuntary dismissal is a punishment that courts may use when a party to a case is not acting properly. Other punishments are found in FRCP Rule 11, Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 38, sections 1927 and 1912 of Title 28 United States Code, and inherent powers of the court.

Involuntary dismissal bars the case from being brought to court again, unless the judge says otherwise.

State court rules may be different from the Federal rules and vary from state to state.