Feature Realty, Inc. v. Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis, LLP

Summary

The Washington Supreme Court held that Feature Realty's California dismissal was voluntary and unilateral under Washington's two-dismissal rule, CR 41(a)(4), because Feature obtained it through an ex parte request rather than a stipulation or court order. The court further held that the rule barred Feature's claims against Preston Gates Ellis and extended to Jerry Neal because he was in privity with the firm, affirming dismissal of the action.

Holdings

1. A plaintiff's ex parte request for dismissal is a unilateral and voluntary dismissal under CR 41(a)(4) when it is not based on a stipulation or court order, and the court does not inquire into the plaintiff's subjective or objective intent in obtaining it.
2. A defendant may benefit from the two-dismissal rule when that defendant is in privity with a defendant against whom the plaintiff obtained two voluntary dismissals.
3. Defendants were not estopped from asserting the two-dismissal rule because their motions to quash service and for an indefinite stay did not demand dismissal of the California action.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Feature's ex parte request for dismissal of the California action was a unilateral and voluntary dismissal under CR 41(a)(4), despite the California court's prior rulings on personal jurisdiction and forum non conveniens.
2. Whether the two-dismissal rule barred Feature's claims against Neal even though Neal was not named in the California request for dismissal.
3. Whether defendants were estopped from asserting that the California dismissal was voluntary because they had sought dismissal-related relief in California.

Disposition

affirmed