What Does Withdrawing a Case Mean in Court
In court proceedings, the term "withdrawn" is used to refer to the retraction of a sentence or question. It can be used to refer to when a statement made by a prosecutor has been retracted, for example. However, the term can also refer to a motion or objection that has been dismissed and retracted by a party or the judge.
The term itself is fairly straightforward and is used across most courts and cases. A common use for the term is during pre-trial hearings, such as in discovery motions. When the motion has been withdrawn, it is considered void and no longer present in the record. Additionally, an objection or statement made a party can be ‘withdrawn’, meaning that they are retracting their statement, plea or objection.
The language can be used in all types of cases and done so frequently. When a prosecutor makes a statement, objection or motion as part of their questioning or argument on the stand or in some other context, they can ‘withdraw’ it.
The language can also be used when one party objects to the statement of another party, and then later decides that it doesn’t apply in the case or is irrelevant. To retract it, they must make it known that they are ‘withdrawing’ the objection from the court record.
Withdrawn is not the same as a jury verdict being "set aside" in technical terms . Withdrawn usually refers to the declaration from the winning party that they are satisfied with the verdict, settlement or other resolution of the case and are voluntarily withdrawing their appeal from the decision. An appellate court can, however, set aside a previously final judgment.
A court order for a motion to withdraw or withdraw from the cases is generally automatically granted by the clerk of the court, unless the order is conditioned on something else by the judge. Otherwise, the court can require an attorney to file another motion to withdraw or may have them appear in court to withdraw.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 41(a)(1)(A) allows a plaintiff in non-countersuit actions to entirely withdraw the action without a court order by filing a notice of dismissal. On this basis, the parties can dismiss the action without an order of dismissal by the court and the costs are usually borne by the plaintiff. The notice must be filed before the opposing party serves either an answer or a motion for summary judgment, whichever is earlier. The notice can be filed by the plaintiff without a counter-claim unless there is an express provision in the rule, but is also without prejudice unless otherwise stated.
With this language, a defendant can file an answer to a complaint at any time during the case, even after the plaintiff has filed a notice of dismissal, unless the action has been fully executed (meaning that the case was adjudicated).
Common Reasons for Withdrawing a Case
In addition to the decision by a judge or jury that rules a case in favor of one party and against another, there are other situations where a case may be decided in favor of one party. One of these other ways is the voluntary "withdrawal" of a case by the party bringing the case. For example, if a plaintiff sues the defendant for an assertion of rights, then the plaintiff can voluntarily have the case "withdrawn" as long as the defendant consents. The case cannot be dismissed, however, with prejudice if the defendant objects. In the event of objection, the case may be dismissed without prejudice, which means that the plaintiff may bring the case again against the defendant.
Examples of when a case may be withdrawn:
Lack of Evidence: In some cases, the complaint may not be supported by evidence. If the plaintiff realizes this before the case goes to court or is closed to being heard, the case may be dismissed without prejudice so that the plaintiff can re-evaluate and then bring the case a second time.
Mutual Agreement: Prior to the start of court proceedings there may be a settlement offer from the defendant that is satisfactory to the plaintiff. In these cases, the plaintiff may dismiss the case without prejudice so that the matter is closed.
Procedural Issues: If there was no service of process, or an asset has been seized without the plaintiff notifying the defendant of the court order, the case may be dismissed. In this way, a case can be "withdrawn" from the court and if the plaintiff has evidence of the wrongdoing, may be brought back to court at a later date.
The Distinction Between Withdrawn and Dismissed
Difference Between Withdrawn versus Dismissed
If a matter is withdrawn, it is not legally in front of the court anymore. It means that a party has voluntarily pulled the case out of the court’s jurisdiction, and therefore, the case will not be entered into the record or subject to further action, unless both parties decide otherwise. Essentially, when a case is withdrawn, it means the petitioning party no longer wishes to pursue it. For example, if a criminal charge is withdrawn, it means that the prosecution no longer intends to bring the case against the defendant. If this is done after an indictment, the case will not be prosecuted on the indictment. Further, the prosecutor can still pursue the charges again at any point within the statute of limitations, as the case never technically made it into the system. A withdrawn case is one that is effectively canceled. When a case is dismissed it means that it has been removed from the active menu of pending charges, but may also have been filed with the court. In civil cases, this can refer to a variety of reasons that a court terminates a case. Dismissals can be either voluntary or involuntary, with a motion to dismiss usually filed by one of the parties. If a case is dismissed "with prejudice," this means that whatever was before the courts was dismissed such that it cannot be brought back in the future. This dismissal issues a final adjudication on the merits of the cause of action. If the case is dismissed "without prejudice," however, this means that the dismissal has no effect on the right of action and will be treated as though the case had never been filed. Of course, both sides would have to consent to a withdrawal or a dismissal, unless there is an element of fraud or some other extenuating circumstance in play for either party.
Legal Consequences of Withdrawing a Case
The most likely example of disadvantage will be in relation to costs. The Rules provide that unless the Court orders otherwise, it can be inferred from the fact that a party withdrew a case that they understood the risks associated with it and that they were prepared to pay the other side’s costs if their case did not succeed but nonetheless chose to withdraw the case without a decision on its merits. Essentially the party concerned is responsible for the costs incurred since the issue was withdrawn and the circumstances of this issue are such that it should have been capable of being dealt with without the need to incur any further expense of the Court. In practice, however, withdrawn cases are common, it is therefore difficult to see how the simple withdrawal of a case can and should, lead to a presumption as to the costs being awarded.
There is some case law dealing with the potential financial implications when a withdrawn case has involved more than one pleading. In those circumstances it may be possible to suggest that the Court could exercise its discretion and only order the party withdrawing the case to pay the costs of the multiple pleading. It would however be very difficult to show that the party benefitted from the filing of a pleading which was withdrawn at the time it was filed, rather than waiting and only taking the risk of filing after the matter had been considered subsequently, even if the matter was stripped down to that degree. Additionally, if an issue was withdrawn after the matter had been fully pleaded, the party still has to bear the wit of the costs that it takes to fully plead the issue, even if it was not included in the last pleading in circumstances where it could have been. Normally parties will either withdraw or choose to pursue all of their issues in any given set of proceedings, so to try and jump between withdrawn and active issues in this way would inevitably increase the costs involved and would likely lead to complex cost arguments failing to reduce costs.
The party withdrawing the case does not have to give notice to the other side that it is doing so but if it does so should notify the Court as soon as possible (Rule 27.1(2)).
The Process for Withdrawing a Case in Court
The process of withdrawing from a case is not as straightforward as it may seem, and the procedure often varies with each individual case, depending on differing factors. In most cases, however, a litigant or their attorney will submit to the court a dismissal of their case – either a voluntary dismissal or a stipulation. The response to this dismissal will also vary according to case type.
In a civil case, a voluntary dismissal will simply conclude the case as if it never happened; a stipulation dismissal requires the agreement of the other party (hence the name) and must be approved by the court. If stipulation dismissal is not approved , the case will continue. A petition to remove a case brought by litigation attorneys is the formal application to dismiss a case.
In a criminal case, a voluntary dismissal or stipulation will not occur; an interlocutory appeal to present a legal argument – for example, to argue against the discovery of evidence – is allowed even after a trial has commenced, but it is not a dismissal. The appellate court will then review these arguments, but the case will continue unless the appellate court decides to overturn previous rulings or remand the case for further proceedings. An interlocutory appeal may be very effective in preserving a defense against the discovery of evidence by the prosecution in a criminal case.
How To Withdraw a Case
There are many things that require your consideration before deciding to withdraw a case: Whether the case should be dismissed with or without prejudice is key. With prejudice meaning you will not be able to re-file your case. Without prejudice meaning you can simply re-file the same complaint (or motion or petition for that matter) and have the same exact chance as before. You have to consider whether you need to make a strategic withdrawal. For example, some people will re-file a case for a realistic amount of time. That way, if the parties do not succeed in a resolution, or obtain a verdict that is not satisfactory, the parties can proceed with renewed vigor by filing the same case a second time. What about discovery? At least in some cases, you may need to argue for re-opening discovery, since the case was withdrawn (and you were not expecting it to be withdrawn) and therefore there was a good chance that you let slip by some evidence (on purpose or by accident). Even if you wish to not reopen discovery, you could get a strategic advantage over your opponent – unseen evidence, such as a document or statement which hurts the defendant’s case. What about the impact on appeals? It seems a little strange, and I have been told it seems a little strange in Texas, but for many appellate courts, the weight of the findings of the lower court are usually considered as a part of the record. That means, in theory, that they may go back and read the lower court documents to determine the lower court’s reasoning. So, if you withdrew a case, the appellate court may not have available to it the same opinion you may have had, as to the lower court’s reasoning, since it is already gone from the record. How does this interrelate with your case? For example, are there other cases in which this case relates to? And if it is not resolved, are those cases at risk? What about attorney’s fees? Can you remain responsible for attorney’s fees you racked up at the trial level, and still proceed to the appellate level – or even to a retrial? Also, what effect does withdrawing the case have on an attorney’s right to be paid for his work? Also, consider the attorney involved. Is the withdrawing attorney remaining involved in the case? Or leaving? Will this affect the loyalty he has to the client, and the time he will spend on the case. Does the attorney in your case plan on getting new co-counsel, or otherwise, re-appearing, given the temporary withdrawal? Consulting with your attorney about these and other issues may help you determine the right path for you and your case. Consider all the issues involved when deciding whether the withdraw or dismiss a case – both in the context of the current case, and in relation to any possible future proceedings.
Frequently Asked Questions on Withdrawing from Court
Can I file a withdrawn case again later?
Generally, yes. If you file a case in court and then withdraw it, that does not prevent you from filing a case on the same issue at a later date. However, if you had to go through the court’s arbitration system, they may have certain rules about the time frame within which you must file a case which is eligible for arbitration. Those rules are set out in GCR 3.601.
If a case has been withdrawn, do I still have to pay the instant lawyer fees set out in the court rules?
Yes, you are still responsible for paying the instant lawyer fees because they cover the time the lawyer spent preparing the case. GCR 3.201(B) says:
Except as provided in subrule (C), for claims filed under MCR 2.113(C)(3), or requests made in writing under MCR 2.1(A)(2), the party filing any complaint, demand, claim, notice of appeal, petition, motion, application, notice of motion, or like paper shall pay the filing fee and, unless exempt from paying fees pursuant to an order of the court, the appropriate instant lawyer fee. Failure to pay the instant lawyer fee within 14 days pursuant to subrule (B)(2) shall cause an automatic dismissal of the claim or action in which the unpaid instant lawyer fee was incurred.
My lawyer withdrew my case or a portion of it, can you explain their reasons for doing so?
You should discuss this with your lawyer. Generally speaking , an attorney will withdraw their staff. That means that the attorney now has less time available, and therefore they can work on fewer cases. So they have to be carefully choosing which cases are going to get the benefit of their now more limited time pool. They don’t tell the court when they withdraw that there is a conflict, or they can’t afford the case, because the court generally does not need to know those reasons. And if they did tell the court those reasons, the information may not be accurate-for example, your lawyer may have underestimated how much their time would be taken up by another case that they took after they got your case. Your lawyer may have miscalculated when they would need to withdraw based on the psychological triggers of the case and their health. Or they may have thought your case was a certain amount of work to begin with, but then discovered that it was much more work than they anticipated.
Still, if there is a conflict with your case and your lawyer, you should schedule a meeting with your lawyer to discuss the withdrawal. If the withdrawal is completely unwarranted, you may have reasons to pursue a legal malpractice lawsuit against them. But if your case is sufficiently lacking the merit, being withdrawn may have been the right choice.
