City of Jacksonville v. Jacksonville Hospitality Holdings, L.P., 82 F.4th 1031

City of Jacksonville sued multiple defendants in 2015 under CERCLA and Florida law for contamination; Continental was a defendant and later filed third-party claims against several entities, including Houston Pipe Line Co., L.P. and HPL GP, LLC (Houston).
Over eight years, various claims were resolved by amended pleadings, summary judgment, or purported voluntary dismissals under Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A)(ii).
Multiple stipulations of dismissal were filed that were signed only by the plaintiff and the particular defendant(s) being dismissed—not by every party who had appeared in the litigation.
Continental appealed the district court’s denial of its Rule 41(a)(2) motion to voluntarily dismiss Houston and the district court later imposed nearly $1.5 million in sanctions on Continental—prompting the appeal.
The Eleventh Circuit raised a jurisdictional question: whether the purported voluntary dismissals under Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii) were effective when not signed by every party who had appeared, and whether a final judgment existed for appellate jurisdiction.
The court held that Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii) requires a stipulation signed by all parties who have appeared in the lawsuit (broad reading), so the unstamped stipulations were ineffective, no final judgment existed, and the appeal was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Meaning of “all parties who have appeared” in Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii)	Only the plaintiff and the defendant(s) being dismissed need sign; phrase should be read to cover only parties involved in that dismissal	The plain text is broad: every party who has appeared in the lawsuit must sign the stipulation	The Rule requires signatures of all parties who have appeared in the lawsuit (broad reading)
Requirement for signatures of parties previously dismissed or removed	Previously dismissed parties need not sign because they are no longer in the action	Parties who have appeared, even if later removed, must sign for a valid Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii) stipulation	Signatures from parties who have appeared (even if later removed) are required for effectiveness
Jurisdictional effect of defective stipulations	Purported dismissals were effective; appellate review of district court’s Rule 41(a)(2) denial is proper	Defective stipulations mean some claims remain pending, so no final judgment and no appellate jurisdiction	At least one defective dismissal defeats finality; the court lacks jurisdiction and the appeal is dismissed

In re Esteva, 60 F.4th 664 (11th Cir. 2023) (Rule 41(a) addresses entire actions and ordinarily does not authorize dismissal of individual claims)
Rosell v. VMSB, LLC, 67 F.4th 1141 (11th Cir. 2023) (Rule 41(a)(2) dismissal must be of an entire action; dismissals of all claims against a particular defendant are distinct)
National City Golf Finance v. Scott, 899 F.3d 412 (5th Cir. 2018) (noting a multi-defendant plaintiff may single out a defendant for dismissal)
Plains Growers ex rel. Florists' Mut. Ins. Co. v. Ickes-Braun Glasshouses, Inc., 474 F.2d 250 (5th Cir. 1973) (plaintiffs may obtain dismissal as to one defendant in multi-defendant suits)
Pavelic & LeFlore v. Marvel Ent. Grp., 493 U.S. 120 (1989) (Federal Rules should be given their plain meaning)
Bus. Guides, Inc. v. Chromatic Commc'ns Enters., Inc., 498 U.S. 533 (1991) (textualist approach to interpreting federal procedural rules)
Klay v. United Healthgroup, Inc., 376 F.3d 1092 (11th Cir. 2004) (discussing Rule 41(a) dismissals as to particular defendants)