Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 12-CV-1523
10-31-2012
TIMOTHY WILLIAMS, Plaintiff v. TABB BICKELL, ET AL., Defendants
(Judge Nealon)
(Magistrate Judge Blewitt)
MEMORANDUM
On August 6, 2012, Plaintiff, an inmate at the State Correctional Institution in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania ("SCI-Huntingdon") filed, through counsel, this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (Doc. 1). The complaint alleged that Plaintiff was denied proper medical care at SCI-Huntingdon. (Id.). Magistrate Judge Thomas M. Blewitt screened the complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(A). On August 17, 2012, Magistrate Judge Blewitt issued a Report and Recommendation ("R&R") recommending that the complaint be dismissed in part and that Plaintiff be allowed to file an amended complaint as to certain claims. (Doc. 4). Instead of filing objections to the R&R, Plaintiff filed an amended complaint on August 30, 2012. (Doc. 5). He also filed a motion for preliminary injunction. (Doc. 6).
On October 29, 2012, Defendant filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint for failure to state a claim. (Doc. 10) (citing FED. R. CIV. P. 12(b)(6)). The following day, Plaintiff filed a notice of voluntary dismissal pursuant to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, stating that Plaintiff has now received the appropriate medical care. (Doc. 12).
Rule 41 provides:
...the plaintiff may dismiss an action without a court order by filing:FED. R. CIV. P. 41(a)(1)(A). Importantly, a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) is neither an answer nor a motion for summary judgment. See In re Bath & Kitchen Fixtures Antitrust Litig., 535 F.3d 161, 166 (3d Cir. 2008). The effect of a filing under Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) "is automatic: the defendant does not file a response, and no order of the district court is needed to end the action. Second, the notice results in a dismissal without prejudice.... Id. (explaining that until a suit has reached the "point of no return", which occurs when the defendant has served either an answer or a summary judgment motion, "dismissal is automatic and immediate -- the right of a plaintiff is 'unfettered'") (internal citations omitted).
(i) a notice of dismissal before the opposing party serves either an answer or a
motion for summary judgment; or
(ii) a stipulation of dismissal signed by all parties who have appeared.
Defendants had filed neither an answer to the amended complaint nor a motion for summary judgment at the time Plaintiff filed his notice of voluntary dismissal. Accordingly, the case will be dismissed without prejudice.
A separate Order will be issued.
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United States District Judge