A dismissal refers to the court’s decision to terminate a court case without imposing liability on thedefendant. The court may dismiss a case in response to a defendant’smotion to dismissor do sosua sponte. According toFederal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP)41(a), aplaintiffmay also voluntarily dismiss an action by choosing to drop the case or by reaching an out of courtsettlementwith the defendant.
There are many reasons for a court to dismiss a case, both procedural and substantive.FRCPRule 12provides the list of grounds for dismissal in federal court, which includes a lack ofjurisdiction,improper service of process,failure to join a party,and a plaintiff’sfailure to state a claim for relief. Additionally, under FRCPRule 41(b)a defendant can move to dismiss if a plaintiff fails to prosecute, comply with court rules, or court order.
State procedural rules often have similar provisions to FRCP. A court can choose to dismiss a casewith prejudiceorwithout prejudice.
- A case dismissed with prejudice is considered a final ruling on the merits of that case.
- A case dismissed without prejudice is not considered a ruling on the merits and the plaintiff is free to file a new lawsuit on the same grounds if they wish to do so.
[Last updated in September of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]
