(decided February 26, 2025)
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allow a plaintiff whose federal court lawsuit has not yet been answered, to voluntarily dismiss his or her lawsuit without court approval, by simply filing a “notice of dismissal.” In this case, the Court unanimously ruled that a first-time “notice of dismissal” operates as a “final . . . proceeding” that closes the plaintiff’s case but subjects it to re-opening by the trial judge for one of the reasons specified in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b). The Court relied on dictionary definitions of the words “final” and “proceeding” that fit the use of those words in the “text, context, and history” of Rule 60(b). See Court’s Slip Opinion of February 26, 2025, page 6, under Part III.
Comment: This was an entirely faithful reading of the text of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) in the context of the earlier rule that allows a “notice of dismissal” without court approval.
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