United States v. JG Snider Enterprises ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 1:21-cv-00854-ADA-SKO 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR PARTIAL VOLUNTARY DISMISSAL 13 v. (ECF No. 74) 14 JG SNIDER ENTERPRISES, INC., et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 A. Background 18 On May 28, 2021, Plaintiff United States of America (“Plaintiff”) filed a complaint against 19 several Defendants, including Defendant JG Snider Enterprises, Inc. (ECF No. 1.) On March 16, 20 2022, Plaintiff filed a first amended complaint. (ECF No. 59.) On May 19, 2023, the parties filed 21 a stipulation and proposed order for partial voluntary dismissal. (ECF No. 74.) 22 Pursuant to Rule 41(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the parties jointly move 23 to dismiss a portion of this action seeking to reduce to judgment the employment tax assessment 24 (Form 941) made against JG Snider Enterprises for the first quarter of 2019 (201903). (ECF No. 25 75 at 2.) Defendants indicate no objection to the partial dismissal, as indicated in Plaintiff’s 26 Settlement Acknowledgement Letter dated February 15, 2023. (Id.) Defendants also have not 27 asserted any counterclaims. (Id.) The Internal Revenue Service expressed that although the parties 28 agree to dismiss the action to the extent that it seeks to recover the above employment tax liability, 1 it is not abating the assessment and Defendant JG Snider Enterprises shall remain liable for the 2 assessment to the extent provided by law. (Id.) Therefore, the parties request that the Court dismiss 3 the portion of this action seeking to reduce to judgment the employment tax assessment (Form 941) 4 made against Defendant JG Snider Enterprises for the first quarter of 2019 (201903). (Id.) 5 B. Legal Standard 6 Rule 41(a)(2) provides in pertinent part that where a defendant has served an answer or 7 motion for summary judgment, or does not stipulate to a dismissal, “an action may be dismissed at 8 the plaintiff’s request only by court order, on terms that the court considers proper.” Fed. R. Civ. 9 P. 41(a)(2). “Unless the order states otherwise, a dismissal under this paragraph (2) is without 10 prejudice.” Id. “The purpose of the rule is to permit a plaintiff to dismiss an action without 11 prejudice so long as the defendant will not be prejudiced, [citation], or unfairly affected by 12 dismissal. [Citations.]” Stevedoring Services of America v. Armilla International B. V., 889 F.2d 13 919, 921 (9th Cir. 1989). 14 The decision to grant or deny a motion pursuant to Rule 41(a)(2) is “within the sound 15 discretion of the trial court and may be reviewed only for abuse of that discretion.” Phillips v. 16 Illinois Central Gulf Railroad, 874 F.2d 984, 986 (9th Cir. 1989). A court should grant a Rule 17 41(a)(2) motion for voluntary dismissal unless the defendant will “suffer clear legal prejudice, other 18 than the prospect of a subsequent suit on the same facts.” Id. “Legal prejudice” means “prejudice 19 to some legal interest, some legal claim, some legal argument.” Westlands Water Dist. v. United 20 States, 100 F.3d 94, 96 (9th Cir. 1996). 21 C. Discussion 22 Accordingly, the Court finds that the parties’ request to dismiss a portion of this action is 23 properly made pursuant to Rule 41(a)(2). As Defendant JG Snider Enterprises has not made a 24 showing of legal prejudice by the dismissal of the portion of the action seeking to reduce to 25 judgment the employment tax assessment (Form 941) made against JG Snider Enterprises for the 26 first quarter of 2019 (201903), and no other defendant has made a claim of prejudice, the Court will 27 grant the request for dismissal. See, e.g., Fardig v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., No. 28 SACV1400561JVSANX, 2014 WL 12694581, at *2 (C.D. Cal. Nov. 10, 2014) (“Voluntary 1 | dismissal under 41(a)(2) is granted liberally, provided a party will not suffer legal prejudice.”) 2 | (citing Stevedoring Servs. of Am., 889 F.2d at 921). 3 Accordingly, 4 1. The Parties’ joint motion for partial dismissal, (ECF No. 74), is GRANTED in full. 5 6 7 | ITISSO ORDERED. 8 Dated: _ June 5, 2023 9 UNITED f£TATES DISTRICT JUDGE 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28