Ross v. Gossett ( 2019 )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS DEMETRIUS ROSS, on behalf of himself ) and all others similarly situated, et al., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) Case No. 15-CV-309-SMY-MAB vs. ) ) GREG GOSSETT, et al, ) ) Defendants. ) MEMORANDUM AND ORDER YANDLE, District Judge: Pending before the Court is Plaintiffs’ Motion to Dismiss Certain Defendants (Doc. 501). Plaintiffs seek to dismiss without prejudice claims against Defendants who may not have been present during the relevant time period set forth in the Second Amended Complaint (Doc. 197). Defendants have not responded to the motion. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41 allows for voluntary dismissals under certain circumstances, but the rule is circumscribed to dismissals of “actions,” not “parties” or “claims,” meaning that the rule should not be used to cleave away one claim or one party from a larger case. (Doc. 34); See Taylor v. Brown, 787 F.3d 851, 857-58 (7th Cir. 2015). While the Court acknowledges the plain reading of the rule, given the number of defendants in this case, it finds that dismissing the defendants identified in the Motion is appropriate in this case. See Madsen v. Park City, 6 F. Supp. 2d 938, 943 (N.D. Ill. 1998) (“In a multiple defendant case, it is permissible to voluntarily dismiss just some of the defendants.”). Accordingly, the Motion is GRANTED and The following Defendants are DISMISSED without prejudice: Richard Harrington Jason Migneron Michael Samuel Rodney Brady Jason Morris George Welborn Brendan Ankrom Wendy Parks Tony Payne, Jr. Stephanie Beasley Gary Perkins Michael Monje Robert Blackwell Brandon Richey Tracy Lee Mark Bower Minh Scott John Carter Kyle Brooks Eric Shelton Louis Browder Christopher Cales Mitch Simmons Ventures Jackson Aaron Campbell Sam Taylor Denise Minor James Cissell Andrew Volk Daniel Sullivan Josh Curry Rene Waters Jack Townely Samuel Dillon James Best Jeffrey Julius Justin Dircks Kent Brookman Richard Lynch Bryan Easton John Tourville Michael Durbin M. Fluder Kevin Reichert Charles Hayden Justin Hammers Beau Purtle James Studer Kevin Hirch Patrick Trokey Eric Welsh Shayne Howell Raymond Allen Randall Bayler Michael Jones James Powell Leif McCarthy Tyler Jones John Mich Chad Ray John Koch Roger Waller Earl Dixon Alexander Lockhart John Hoffman Alan Dallas Raymond Groves Martin Buchner These defendants are dismissed without prejudice from this matter only and not as to any of the twenty consolidated cases. IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED: August 21, 2019 Noe kt STACI M. YANDLE United States District Judge Page 2 of 2