The Supreme Court of Virginia has said that the right to take a nonsuit, notwithstanding a defendant’s loss of time and expense incurred in preparation or any disruption to the court’s docket, is a powerful tactical weapon in the hands of a plaintiff.
A nonsuit gives you a “do-over” or mulligan and allows you to correct any flaws in your case, with no penalty. You can use it in claims based on car accidents, medical malpractice, traumatic brain injury and concussion, defective products, construction accidents, defamation, and business torts – and even in workers compensation.
This article explains the basics of moving for a nonsuit, when you should consider taking one, and the differences between nonsuits and voluntary dismissals in Virginia and federal courts.
Please keep reading to learn more. And check out Virginia Code Section 8.01-380, entitled Dismissal of Action by Nonsuit; Fees and Costs.
If you have any questions about your case or would like a free consultation with a top-rated personal injury lawyer, call me: (804) 251-1620 or (757) 810-5614. See why accident victims and other attorneys have voted my firm as one of the best in Virginia and how we can help you get results.
Black’s Law Dictionary defines a nonsuit as: “A plaintiff’s voluntary dismissal of a case or of a defendant, without a decision on the merits.”
A nonsuit is a legal procedure that ends your lawsuit without prejudice. It allows you to sue the same defendants again based on the same cause of action (negligence, intentional tort, strict liability, etc.). Res judicata and collateral estoppel (legal doctrines that prevent plaintiffs from retrying the same cause of action) do not apply to nonsuits.
The right to a nonsuit is absolute in Virginia courts. The court must grant it – with some exceptions.
Usually, it is easy to determine if you can take a nonsuit. But there are unique situations. And numerous judicial opinions address when it is or is not too late to take a nonsuit.
You may take a nonsuit unless:
You have the right to nonsuit if none of these exceptions apply. And you can exercise this right regardless of the time and money spent on discovery and litigation.
You do not have to have a reason for taking a nonsuit.
But there are several reasons you might want to move for leave to nonsuit your case. These reasons include:
In Virginia a plaintiff may take one nonsuit as a matter of right.
However, the court may allow additional nonsuits if you show good cause and provide reasonable notice to the defendants. It may also grant subsequent nonsuits if the defendants stipulate (agree) to them.
No – in most cases.
But there are two exceptions.
First, the court may order you to pay the opposing party’s costs and reasonable attorney fees if it permits you to take more than one nonsuit. The court can make the payment of these fees and expenses a condition of refiling the civil action.
Second, the court may order you to pay reasonable witness fees and travel costs of expert witnesses scheduled to appear at the trial if you take a nonsuit within seven (7) days of the trial or during the trial. But it cannot order you to pay attorney’s fees if this is your first nonsuit.
The court is authorized to determine the reasonableness of the expert witness fees and travel costs. And invoices, receipts, and confirmation of payment are admissible to prove the reasonableness of the fees and legal expenses sought by the opposing party. You may, however, offer additional testimony or evidence to rebut the amount sought.
No.
In Virginia a nonsuit is voluntary. The court may recommend that you take a nonsuit, but it cannot force you to. Though you should reevaluate your evidence if the court makes that recommendation.
There are two ways to move for a nonsuit in civil litigation.
First, you can file a written motion asking the court for leave to take a nonsuit.
Second, you can make an oral motion (followed by the submission of a written order) to nonsuit. Use this method if you need to nonsuit quickly because the judge has indicated he or she will grant a motion to strike the evidence or other dispositive motion that would result in losing on the merits.
No matter what method used, you must inform the court if you have taken a prior nonsuit of the same action.
If you sue again after a nonsuit, you must file the lawsuit in the same court as the first one unless one of the following exceptions apply:
A voluntary nonsuit tolls the statute of limitations in Virginia.
Typically you must file the complaint within the original period of limitations (two years for motor vehicle accident claims).
But if you take a nonsuit, you have six months from the date the court entered the nonsuit to refile your claim – even if the original limitations period has expired. This right is found in Virginia Code Section 8.01-229(E)(3).
Once you have filed the lawsuit, you have an additional twelve months to serve it on the defendant in Virginia (Rule 3:5(e) of the Rules of Virginia Supreme Court. You can build the evidence in your case during this period.
Below is the template I use when filing a motion for leave to take a nonsuit in civil litigation.
The plaintiff, John Smith, moves for leave to take a nonsuit without prejudice in this action.
Smith states the following:
On May 1, 2021 Smith filed a complaint against the respondent in the Virginia Beach Circuit Court. This action arises from a motor vehicle accident occurring on December 1, 2020. Smith alleges the respondent’s negligence caused Smith harm.
Smith has not taken a prior nonsuit.
Smith now asks the court to grant his motion for voluntary nonsuit as a matter of right under Virginia Code Section 8.01-380.
Sincerely,
John Smith
The federal court rules do not give plaintiffs as much power as state court rules for nonsuits.
There is no right to nonsuit in federal court. But there is a similar procedure – the voluntary dismissal.
Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governs dismissals in federal court.
Rule 41 provides two ways to get a voluntary dismissal without a court order, meaning the motion for dismissal is self-executing.
First, you may take a voluntary dismissal if the defendant has not yet filed an answer or a motion for summary judgment in response to your complaint. You need only file a notice of dismissal with the clerk of the court. A court order is not required.
Second, you may take a voluntary dismissal if all the parties (including all defendants) agree to it. You need only file with the clerk of the court a stipulation of dismissal that all the parties (or their counsel) signed.
If neither of the situations described above applies, you cannot obtain a voluntary dismissal without a court order.
You can try to obtain an order by filing a motion for a voluntary dismissal that states why the court should grant relief.
Usually the federal court will grant the motion for voluntary dismissal unless the defendant can show it would suffer actual legal prejudice. But it may impose terms and conditions (including the payment of attorney’s fees and legal expenses to the defendant) should it grant the motion. A failure to satisfy the court’s requirements could bar you from refiling the lawsuit.
If the court imposes terms that seem unfair or are unreasonable, consider withdrawing the motion and continuing with the lawsuit.
Further, the court may not allow a voluntary dismissal if a defendant has pleaded a counterclaim and the counterclaim has no independent jurisdictional basis.
One – in most cases.
When you take a voluntary dismissal of right after having previously taken a voluntary dismissal of right in an action based on the same claim, your second voluntary dismissal of right is with prejudice and considered a decision on the merits. This means you cannot refile the lawsuit.
The ability to take a nonsuit is not limited to plaintiffs seeking to recover damages in a civil action.
A nonsuit is also a powerful tool for injured employees claiming workers compensation benefits.
Yes.
You can take a nonsuit and voluntarily dismiss your workers comp claim.
The Workers Compensation Act and the Rules of the Workers Compensation Commission do not have provisions related to nonsuits.
However, the Workers Compensation Commission has followed the civil nonsuit provisions in the Virginia Code and allowed injured employees to take a nonsuit in some circumstances.
Therefore, judicial precedent (common law) permits an injured employee to take a nonsuit in a workers compensation claim.
You do not have to explain to the commission or the defendants why you are taking your first nonsuit.
But there are some reasons you might want to move for a nonsuit.
Here is a list of some of the reasons I might recommend that a client take a nonsuit:
You have the right to take one nonsuit.
Additional nonsuits are at the commission’s discretion.
In my experience, the commission will allow multiple nonsuits if there is no record of abuse of process or deliberate disregard for the commission’s authority and procedures.
There are two ways to ask the commission to dismiss your claim voluntarily.
First, you can submit a written motion for nonsuit to the commission. I provide a sample motion for use in workers comp claims later in the article.
Second, you can make an oral motion to nonsuit the claim.
You should use this method if you decide to take a nonsuit during the workers compensation hearing.
Ask the deputy commissioner to allow you to move for a nonsuit on the record. This way, the hearing transcript will memorialize your motion if there is a dispute after the trial.
There are litigation milestones that you cannot pass if you want to nonsuit your workers comp claim.
You can take a nonsuit any time before the hearing record closes or before you submit the claim to the deputy commissioner for a decision on the merits. Once these milestones pass, the commission will deny any motion for nonsuit or voluntary dismissal.
Further, you do not want to take a nonsuit once the statute of limitations for your workers compensation case has expired.
This situation happens often.
The commission may schedule your workers comp hearing for a date after the statute of limitations has expired if you waited until close to the deadline to file the initial claim or if the commission has postponed (continued) the hearing from earlier dates.
Many people will not recognize the weaknesses of their case until soon before the trial (or during it) – primarily if they did not use the litigation discovery tools available (interrogatories, requests for production of documents, requests for admissions, depositions, doctor causation letters, etc.).
It can be tempting to move for a nonsuit and voluntary dismissal when you realize your case is not as strong as you thought. But taking the nonsuit after the statute of limitations has expired can result in forfeiting your right to workers comp benefits such as lifetime medical coverage, temporary total disability, and compensation for permanent partial disability.
This is because the commission will treat your initial claim as never being filed when it grants the nonsuit motion. And the statute of limitations will bar you from pursuing the claim you refile.
The defendants (employer, insurer, TPA) might object to your motion for a nonsuit and voluntary dismissal.
But most won’t if you have not taken a nonsuit before.
This is because experienced attorneys know that the commission will grant the motion for a nonsuit and dismissal without prejudice over an objection and that an objection to the plaintiff’s first nonsuit is a waste of time.
If you are seeking a second nonsuit (or third or fourth), most defense attorneys will object. The more nonsuits you have taken (and been granted) before, the more likely it is that the commission will not grant another. The insurer will have a better argument that you are abusing the litigation process and that it is time for a decision on the claim’s merits.
No.
You will not have to pay your employer (or its insurer’s) attorney’s fees and litigation expenses if you nonsuit your workers comp claim.
Virginia Code Section 65.2-713 provides for assessing costs, including attorney’s fees, against an employer or insurer in a workers comp matter. Usually costs are assessed if the commission finds the insurer did not have a reasonable basis to defend the claim and deny benefits.
The Code, however, does not have a section for the assessment of costs and attorney’s fees against the claimant in a workers compensation case. And the commission has declined to charge fees or expenses to claimants that voluntarily dismiss their case.
This is a critical distinction between nonsuits in civil proceedings and workers comp claims.
Below is the template I use when filing a motion for nonsuit in a workers comp claim.
Motion for Nonsuit and Dismissal of Claim Without Prejudice
The claimant, Jane Doe, moves for leave to take a nonsuit in this action. She offers the following to support this motion:
For the reasons stated above, Doe moves that her pending claims may stand dismissed without prejudice to bringing another action concerning the matters involved.
Sincerely,
Jane Doe
If you realize that you need more evidence and time in the middle of litigation, take a deep breath and call me: (804) 251-1620 or (757) 810-5614.
You might be able to take a nonsuit so that you can start over and build a strong case from the ground up.