Rule 1.943.Voluntary dismissal

Rule 1.943 governs voluntary dismissal — a party's own decision to drop its claim. Up until ten days before the scheduled trial date, a party may dismiss its own petition, counterclaim, cross-claim, cross-petition, or petition of intervention without needing the court's permission. After that point, dismissing a claim requires the court's consent, and the court may attach whatever terms or conditions it deems proper. If another party has asserted a counterclaim against the party seeking dismissal, that other party's consent is also required, unless the counterclaim can still stand on its own as an independent claim.

A dismissal under this rule is without prejudice by default, meaning the claim can be refiled, unless the dismissal states otherwise. But the rule includes a two-strikes consequence: if a party dismisses a claim after having previously dismissed an action against the same defendant — in any court of any state or the United States — involving or based on the same cause, that second dismissal operates as an adjudication on the merits. In other words, the claim is gone for good, unless the court orders otherwise in the interests of justice.