Dotson v. Phillips

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE NASHVILLE DIVISION GREGORY TYRONE DOTSON, ) #339695, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) NO. 3:23-cv-00881 ) SHAWN PHILLIPS, Warden, et al., ) JUDGE RICHARDSON ) Defendants. ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiff Gregory Dotson, a state inmate incarcerated at the Bledsoe County Correctional Complex in Pikeville, Tennessee, filed this action and sought leave to proceed as a pauper on August 22, 2023. On November 9, 2023, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Waive Filing of Fees (Doc. No. 5), in which he expresses regret for having “ignorantly filed” this lawsuit and asks the Court to “rescind this grievance and/or complaint without prejudice.” (Id. at 1.) The Court construes Plaintiff’s Motion as a notice of voluntary dismissal under Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Harris v. Adams Cnty. Domestic Relations, No. 1:14-cv-2074, 2015 WL 5895502 , at *2 (M.D. Pa. Sept. 30, 2015) (construing pro se plaintiff’s letter seeking to withdraw complaint as notice of voluntary dismissal under Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i)). Under this Rule, “the plaintiff may dismiss an action without a court order by filing . . . a notice of dismissal before the opposing party serves either an answer or a motion for summary judgment[.]” Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A)(i). A notice of dismissal in such circumstances is “self-effectuating, leaving no basis upon which a District Court can prevent such a dismissal,” and is “effective immediately upon . .. filing.” Aamot v. Kassel, 1 F.3d 441, 445 (6th Cir. 1993); see Wellfount, Corp. v. Hennis Care Ctr. of Bolivar, Inc., 951 F.3d 769, 774 (6th Cir. 2020) (“Under Rule 41(a)(1), a qualifying plaintiff has an absolute right to withdraw its action and, once a notice of dismissal is filed, a district court ‘has no discretion to deny such a dismissal.” (quoting Aamot, | F.3d at 443)). Accordingly, Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed this case without prejudice on November 9, 2023. Although no order is necessary to effectuate this disposition, as an administrative matter, the Clerk is DIRECTED to terminate Doc. No. 5 as pending and to close this file. IT IS SO ORDERED. Chi Ruch UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE