DONALD SILER, FATHER AND GUARDIAN FOR LORI SILER, AND LORI SILER, A MINOR, APPELLANTS,
v.
LUMBERMENS MUTUAL CASUALTY COMPANY, ETC., ET AL, APPELLEES
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This case involves a dissenting opinion arguing that a plaintiff's dismissal is permissible under Rule 1.420 even with a counterclaim, as long as the counterclaim can remain pending for independent adjudication and the counterclaimant does not object.
The dissenting judge believes the majority opinion incorrectly interpreted Rule 1.420 and that a plaintiff's dismissal should be allowed if the counterclaim can be independently adjudicated and no objection is raised.
[1] A voluntary dismissal under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420(a)(1) is effective immediately upon filing and divests the trial court of jurisdiction, precluding relie…
[2] A notice of voluntary dismissal that seeks to dismiss parties from an action, rather than the action itself, does not operate as a dismissal under Florida Rule of Civil P…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe dissenting judge notes that there was no indication in the record that the counterclaimants objected to the plaintiff's dismissal. The dissent als…
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COWART, Judge.
Simply stated, appellants A (Lori Siler) and B (Donald Siler) sued C (Dennis Ber- tone) and his insurer D (Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company). C and his wife E (Barbara Bertone) filed an answer and counterclaim against A and B and their insurer F (American Liberty Insurance Company). A, B and F filed an answer to the counterclaim and also filed a cross-claim against C and D. A and B, appellants, settled their main claim and filed the following paper:
VOLUNTARY DISMISSAL WITH PREJUDICE
Comes now the Plaintiffs, Counter-Defendants and Cross-Plaintiffs, DONALD SILER, Father and next friend of LORI SILER, and LORI SILER, a minor, by and through their undersigned attorney, herein voluntarily dismisses the Defendants, Counter-Plaintiffs and Cross-Defendants, LUMBERMENS MUTUAL CASUALTY COMPANY and DENNIS BERTONE, from this action.
Apparently later, counsel for A and B became concerned that this paper not only served to eliminate A and B’s main claim stated in their original complaint against C and D, but also eliminated A and B’s cross-claim against C and D, which was filed in response to C and E’s counterclaim against A, B and F.
Accordingly, A and B moved under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540 for relief from the effect of their “voluntary dismissal with prejudice,” alleging that, by that paper, A and B intended only to dismiss their original complaint and not their cross-claim. The trial judge denied appellant’s motion on the authority of Randle-Eastern Ambulance Service, Inc. v. Vasta, 360 So. 2d 68 (Fla.1978), which states that, once a notice of voluntary dismissal under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420(a)(1) is filed, the action is immediately dismissed without order of court and thereafter the trial court has no discretion or jurisdiction of the cause and no power to grant relief under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540. A and B, as appellants, take this non-final appeal from this order. Fla.R.App.P. 9.130(a)(5).
First, and most elementarily, Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420 relates only to dismissal of actions and not to dismissal of parties from an action.1 Notwithstanding what appellants may or may not have intended to accomplish by their paper styled “Voluntary Dismissal with Prejudice,” a careful reading of it shows that it only attempted to dismiss C (Dennis Ber-tone) and D (Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company) “from this action.” Therefore, since this paper did not dismiss the action, under Rule 1.420 or otherwise, Randle does not apply and the trial court erred in relying on that case.
Secondly, even if the paper were considered to be a notice of dismissal under Rule 1.420(a), Randle, and similar cases,2 must be distinguished because in this case there was a counterclaim filed and, therefore, a voluntary dismissal under Rule 1.420(a)(l) was not authorized; any dismissal of the action must be under Rule 1.420(a)(2), which requires an order from the trial court. Ryder System, Inc. v. O’Connor, 369 So. 2d 980 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979); Gull Construction Co. v. Hendrie, 271 So. 2d 775 (Fla. 2d DCA 1973); Rice v. Fremow, 165 So. 2d 447 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964).
Since dismissals under Rule 1.420(a)(2) require an order of court, the mere filing of a notice of voluntary dismissal is ineffective to dismiss the cause and does not cause a loss of jurisdiction in the trial court. Ryder. Carolina Casualty Co. v. General Truck Equipment & Trailer Sales, Inc., 407 So. 2d 1095 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982), is contrary to Ryder, but we follow Ryder. REVERSED and remanded 'for further proceedings.
ORFINGER, C.J., concurs.
COBB, J., dissents with opinion.
. See, e.g., Cooper v. Carroll, 239 So. 2d 511 (Fla. 3d DCA 1970); Scott v. Permacrete, Inc., 124 So. 2d 887 (Fla. 1st DCA 1960).
. Randle-Eastern Ambulance Service, Inc. v. Vasta, 360 So. 2d 68 (Fla.1978), Rich Motors, Inc. v. Loyd Cole Produce Express, Inc., 244 So. 2d 526 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970), and Sun First National Bank of Delray Beach v. Green Crane & Concrete Services, Inc., 371 So. 2d 492 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979), constitute a line of cases holding that after a voluntary dismissal under Rule 1.420(a)(1) the trial court has no jurisdiction to grant a plaintiffs motion for relief under Rule 1.540.
However, Rich, Randle and Sun Bank may only hold that the motions for relief under Rule 1.540 in those cases were insufficient; those cases do not hold that proper grounds for relief under Rule 1.540 from a notice of voluntary dismissal can never be alleged. See Shampaine Industries, Inc. v. South Broward Hospital District, 411 So. 2d 364 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982).
COBB, Judge,
dissenting.
Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420(a)(1) provides only two exceptions to the power of a party plaintiff to dismiss his action. One is an action where property has been seized or is in the custody of the court. The other is during the pendency of a motion for summary judgment. No exception is mentioned in this section for actions wherein a counterclaim has been filed. In subsection (a)(2) of the rule, it is stated:
If a counterclaim has been served by a defendant prior to the service upon him of the plaintiff’s notice of dismissal, the action shall not be dismissed against defendant’s objections unless the counterclaim can remain pending for independent adjudication by the court. (Emphasis added.)
I do not find any requirement for a court order approving a plaintiff’s dismissal in each instance in which a counterclaim has been filed. The rule simply prevents a plaintiff (counter-defendant) from dismissing a claim against himself where the counterclaimant objects and the counterclaim cannot remain pending. I disagree with the majority opinion in the Ryder case and believe the dissent therein correctly interprets the rule.
There is no indication in this record that the counterclaimants objected to the dismissal. I would affirm on authority of Randle-Eastern Ambulance Service, Inc. v. Vasta, 360 So. 2d 68 (Fla.1978), and Carolina Casualty Co. v. General Truck Equipment & Trailer Sales, Inc., 407 So. 2d 1095 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982).
Moreover, it seems elementary to me that the dismissal of all of the adverse parties is a dismissal of the plaintiff’s action pursuant to Rule 1.420, as the trial judge thought, rather than the mere dropping of a party pursuant to Rule 1.250(b).
Accordingly, I dissent.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Fed. Ins. Co. v. Fatolitis, 478 So. 2d 106 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)…d to terminate the lower court’s jurisdiction over Federal. We do not disagree with the cases cited by Fatolitis to the effect that an order of dismissal is required when a counterclaim is pending. See, e.g., Siler v. Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Co., 420 So. 2d 357 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982), petition for review denied, 430 So. 2d 450 (Fla.1983). However, in the instant ease the counterclaim was filed by Allen only. The obvious intent of Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420(a)(2) and the cases cited by Fatolitis is…
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Piper Aircraft Corp. v. Prescott, 445 So. 2d 591 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)…tions” to Randle’s broad rule of preclusion. Some state that Randle does not apply to situations in which a plaintiff voluntarily “dismisses” parties to an action rather than the entire action itself. See Siler v. Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company, 420 So. 2d 357 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982); Gonzalez v. Turner, 427 So. 2d 1123 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983). A “narrow exception” has also been carved out where “a fraud on the court is attempted by the filing of the voluntary dismissal, in which case the court may strike the volu…
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Rebolledo v. Mireya Cristina Cambero Cordero, 217 So. 3d 147 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017)…its progeny stand for the proposition that a party’s pending motion to amend that party’s pleadings to assert a counterclaim stays the effect of a later filed voluntary dismissal. Our Gang, Inc., 608 So. 2d at 543; Siler v. Lumbermens Mut. Cas. Co., 420 So. 2d 357, 358 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982); Ryder Sys., Inc. v. O’Connor, 369 So. 2d 980, 981 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979); Gull Constr. Co., 271 So. 2d at 776. Those cases, however, are inapposite: in none of those cases has the party filing the motion to amend already been…
Previewing 3 of 6 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited (12 total)
- Randle-Eastern Ambulance Serv., Inc. v. Vasta, 360 So. 2d 68 (Fla. 1978)
- Shampaine Indus., Inc. v. S. Broward Hosp. Dist., 411 So. 2d 364 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982)
- Cooper v. Carroll, 239 So. 2d 511 (Fla. 3d DCA 1970)
- SUN First Nat'l Bank OF Delray Beach v. Green Crane & Concrete Servs., Inc., 371 So. 2d 492 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979)
- Shands & Baker, Inc. v. Holmes Co., Inc., 244 So. 2d 526 (Fla. 2d DCA 1970)
- Rich Motors, Inc. v. Loyd Cole Produce Express, Inc., 244 So. 2d 526 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970)
- Scott v. Permacrete, Inc., 124 So. 2d 887 (Fla. 1st DCA 1960)
- Carolina Cas. Co. v. Gen. Truck Equip. & Trailer Sales, Inc., 407 So. 2d 1095 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982)
- Grous v. Wilke Berry Standland and Corlen Standland, 271 So. 2d 775 (Fla. 1st DCA 1973)
- Gull Constr. Co. v. Hendrie, 271 So. 2d 775 (Fla. 2d DCA 1973)