Joyner v. Tanner, 2:19-cv-00731

Plaintiff Tracey David Joyner, a state prisoner, filed a pro se civil-rights complaint alleging he was choked by a fellow inmate.
The court withheld issuance of summons and scheduled a Spears hearing while screening under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A.
Before defendants answered or moved for summary judgment, Joyner filed a motion requesting voluntary dismissal of the action.
The magistrate judge treated that filing as a notice of dismissal and evaluated it under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(i).
No defendant had filed an answer or a motion for summary judgment at the time of the notice.
The magistrate judge recommended granting the motion and dismissing the case without prejudice.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether plaintiff can voluntarily dismiss the suit before defendants answer or move for summary judgment	Joyner sought dismissal via motion/notice; contends dismissal is proper	No defendants had appeared with an answer or summary-judgment motion to oppose dismissal	Court held Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) gives an absolute right to dismiss; dismissal granted without prejudice
Whether the court may condition or deny dismissal when Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) applies	Joyner implicitly asserts unconditional dismissal is available	No basis to impose conditions because defendants had not filed an answer or summary-judgment motion	Court held it lacks discretion to deny or condition dismissal when Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) applies

Carter v. United States, 547 F.2d 258 (5th Cir. 1977) (plaintiff has absolute right to dismiss before defendant files answer or summary-judgment motion)
Williams v. Ezell, 531 F.2d 1261 (5th Cir. 1976) (court cannot deny or condition a proper Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) dismissal)
Spears v. McCotter, 766 F.2d 179 (5th Cir. 1985) (procedures for developing pro se prisoner complaints)
Douglass v. United Services Auto. Ass'n, 79 F.3d 1415 (5th Cir. 1996) (objection waiver rule for magistrate judge reports and recommendations)