United States Federal Circuit

A plaintiff's voluntary dismissal without prejudice pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(i) does not bestow "prevailing party" status upon the defendant. In a dispute involving patents relating to an embedded railway track system, judgment on the pleadings and a grant of attorney fees for defendant are vacated and reversed where, because defendant had not yet served on plaintiff either an answer or a motion for summary judgment, the action was dismissed when plaintiff filed its notice of dismissal.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/16/2007
• Published 02/16/2007

Judges

• PROST, Circuit Judge., Before MICHEL, Chief Judge, SCHALL and PROST, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Federal Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Robert G. Oake, Jr., of Allen, Texas, argued for plaintiff-appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• John R. Emerson, Haynes and Boone, LLP, of Dallas, Texas, argued for defendant-appellee.   With him on the brief was Benjamin L. Mesches.