Jones v. Sandoval
- Charles Breyer
- 3:19-cv-05981
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Jones v. Sandoval, Judge Breyer granted Jones’s voluntary-dismissal motion, dismissed the action without prejudice, and terminated the pending summary-judgment motion as moot.
Timothy Lewis Jones’s action against M. Sandoval was dismissed without prejudice; Sandoval’s pending summary-judgment motion was terminated as moot.
What happened
In Jones v. Sandoval, Timothy Lewis Jones asked to voluntarily dismiss his action after M. Sandoval moved for summary judgment. Sandoval argued that Jones had not properly completed the required administrative process before filing suit. Jones sought dismissal without prejudice so he could refile after completing that process.
The court explained that because Sandoval had already served a summary-judgment motion, Jones needed the court’s approval to dismiss the case. The court also noted that a dismissal for failure to properly complete the required administrative process under 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a) is without prejudice to refiling after completion.
Judge Charles R. Breyer granted Jones’s motion for voluntary dismissal without prejudice and dismissed the action without prejudice. The clerk was directed to close the case and terminate Sandoval’s pending summary-judgment motion as moot.
The detailed version
- Jones v. Sandoval · No. 3:19-cv-05981
- Charles Breyer
- July 23, 2020
Background
Timothy Lewis Jones moved to voluntarily dismiss the action without prejudice. The motion followed M. Sandoval’s motion for summary judgment, which argued that Jones had not properly exhausted available administrative remedies before filing suit, as required by 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a). Jones sought dismissal without prejudice so he could refile after properly completing the required administrative process.
Legal standard
The court explained that a plaintiff may dismiss an action without court approval before the opposing party serves an answer or a motion for summary judgment. After an answer or summary-judgment motion has been served, and absent a stipulation between the parties, the plaintiff must obtain court approval under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(2). The court must then decide whether the dismissal should be with or without prejudice. The court also stated that, under Ninth Circuit law, a successful summary-judgment motion based on failure to properly exhaust administrative remedies under § 1997e(a) results in dismissal without prejudice to refiling after proper exhaustion.
Ruling
The court found that the requested dismissal without prejudice was just and proper. Judge Charles R. Breyer granted Jones’s motion for voluntary dismissal without prejudice and dismissed the action without prejudice. The clerk was instructed to close the file and terminate all pending motions, including Sandoval’s summary-judgment motion, as moot. The opinion did not decide the summary-judgment motion’s exhaustion argument on its merits.
Effect
The action was ended without prejudice. The opinion states that Jones sought dismissal so he could refile after properly exhausting the required administrative remedies. The pending summary-judgment motion was terminated as moot.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.