Opinion
Master File (MDL No. 1348) 00 Civ. 2843 (LAK) This Document Relates to: 01 Civ. 0975 (LAK), 01 Civ. 9571 (LAK)
May 14, 2002
PRETRIAL ORDER NO. 84 (Purported Voluntary Dismissals)
The Court is in receipt of documents, neither of which appears to have been filed properly with the clerk of the court, that purport voluntarily to dismiss two separate Rezulin actions. One requests that the Court take notice of plaintiff Judith Robinson's voluntary non-suit without prejudice and the other announces that plaintiff Juanita Pillot "files the following Notice of Voluntary Dismissal Without Prejudice" although nothing of the kind follows the announcement. The Pillot document informs the Court that the defendants refused to stipulate to a dismissal without prejudice while the Robinson document is silent on the subject. Neither informs the Court of the basis for dismissal, e.g., whether dismissal under Fed.R.Civ.P. 41(a)(1) is proper because no answer or motion for summary judgment has been served on the plaintiff by the defendants or whether the plaintiffs are seeking a Court order dismissing their cases without prejudice. Both applications are unsupported by affidavit, declaration, or supporting memorandum.
Were the Court to attempt to uncover on its own the information plaintiffs failed to include in their papers, the task would be complicated immensely by plaintiffs' other errors and omissions. The caption of the Robinson document contains the MDL number 1348, but not the Southern District master docket number 00 Civ. 2843 (LAK), as required. It contains also an individual Southern District docket number that corresponds to the case of plaintiff Kenneth Caples, which already has been dismissed. The caption of the Pillot document contains the incorrect master docket number 0062843 and an individual Southern District docket number that corresponds to the case of Alma Faye Wombles. A so-called stipulation of dismissal in Wombles' case was the subject of Pretrial Order No. 83.
The Court treats the Robinson document as a motion for the voluntary dismissal of 01 Civ. 0975 (LAK) and the Pillot document as a motion for the voluntary dismissal of 01 Civ. 9571 (LAK). The motions are denied without prejudice to renewal in compliance with all applicable rules and orders. In addition to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Southern District of New York's local rules, and this Court's individual rules, plaintiffs specifically are directed to Pretrial Order No. 1, which contains caption requirements and contact information for the plaintiffs' liaison counsel, plaintiffs' steering committee and plaintiffs' executive committee.
SO ORDERED.