## Facts

- Purchasers of bath and kitchen plumbing fixtures brought consolidated class actions alleging manufacturers conspired to fix prices in violation of Sherman Act § 1.
- The actions were consolidated in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and plaintiffs filed a consolidated amended complaint.
- Defendants moved to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) rather than filing answers.
- The district court held the complaint inadequately pleaded and granted leave to amend.
- Plaintiffs did not amend and instead filed a notice of voluntary dismissal under Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i), before any defendant served an answer or a motion for summary judgment.
- Defendants sought to strike the notice and obtain a dismissal with prejudice.
- The district court struck the notice and entered its own dismissal order, effectively terminating the case in that court.
- Plaintiffs appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether a plaintiff’s Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) notice remains effective when filed after a Rule 12(b)(6) ruling granting leave to amend but before any answer or summary judgment motion is served.
2. Whether a district court has authority to strike a timely Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) notice and substitute a court-ordered dismissal (including with prejudice).

## Decision

- The Third Circuit vacated the district court’s order and remanded.
- The court held the Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) notice was effective upon filing because no answer or summary judgment motion had been served.
- The district court lacked authority to strike the notice or to enter a contrary dismissal order.
- On remand, the district court was instructed to enter an order reflecting dismissal without prejudice under Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i).

## Legal Principles

- A Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) filing is a notice, not a motion; when the rule’s conditions are met, dismissal is automatic and requires no court order.
- The right to dismiss under Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) persists until the defendant serves either (i) an answer or (ii) a motion for summary judgment; a Rule 12(b)(6) motion or ruling does not cut off that right.
- Absent an express statement to the contrary, a Rule 41(a)(1) dismissal is without prejudice, subject to Rule 41(a)(1)(B)’s two-dismissal rule.
- A district court’s docket-management interests cannot override the self-executing effect of a valid Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) notice.

## Conclusion

The Third Circuit held that plaintiffs who file a Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) notice before any answer or summary judgment motion automatically dismiss the action without prejudice, even after a Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal with leave to amend, and the district court may not strike the notice or impose a different form of dismissal.


In re Bath & Kitchen Fixtures Antitrust Litig., 535 F.3d 161 (3d Cir. 2008)