Court & Hearings

The following question was originally submitted to John Roska, a lawyer Someone who represents clients in courts or who gives legal advice and writer for the weekly column "The Law Q&A" in the Champaign News Gazette. The article has been updated to include changes in the law and additional information.

Question

What does it mean to dismiss a court case because of prejudice? How about voluntary vs. involuntary?

Answer

I think what you mean to ask about is a case being dismissed Cases dismissed with no further action anticipated. "with prejudice" or "without prejudice." Those are the formal legal terms for the different ways cases get dismissed. Dismissing a case "because of prejudice" sounds like it got dismissed because of a judge's racism or something like that. This is not true.

In the formal legal world, a court case that is dismissed with prejudice means that it is dismissed permanently. A case dismissed with prejudice is over and done with, once and for all, and can't be brought back to court. 

A case dismissed without prejudice means the opposite. It's not dismissed forever. The person whose case it is can try again. Keep in mind that deadlines, such as statutes of limitations or specific refiling periods, may still apply.

Cases are also dismissed voluntarily, by the person who filed the case, or involuntarily, by a judge. For example, you could file a small claims case and voluntarily dismiss your case, either with or without prejudice. You could dismiss with prejudice if there'd probably be no need to come back to court, because, say, you’ve been paid. However, if you decide you want to sue in regular court because the amount is too much for small claims court, you could voluntarily dismiss your small claims case without prejudice. That would allow you to try your case in regular court. You could even change your mind again and return to Small Claims by reducing your claim. There can also be challenges associated with voluntarily dismissing a case, even if it’s dismissed without prejudice. Learn more about the potential issues you might have to overcome if you voluntarily dismiss a case. 

When cases are dismissed involuntarily, it's by a judge, against the wishes of the person whose case is dismissed. Involuntary dismissals happen when the judge decides the case can’t go forward because of a legal reason. Usually, they're the result of the other side filing a Motion A request to the judge to make the court or a party in the case do something to Dismiss, pointing out those reasons.

When a case is involuntarily dismissed by a judge, it could be with or without prejudice. Often, judges dismiss cases without prejudice, so that the person whose case got dismissed can try again after fixing the problem the other side pointed out.

Sometimes, though, judges dismiss cases with prejudice. Maybe the loser has already had chances to fix their case, and the judge concludes there's no way the case can go forward. But it could be lots of things. The result is that the case is closed. If your case was dismissed with prejudice, it could be appealed to a higher judge, but you can’t start over from scratch and try again.