Notice of Voluntary Dismissal Without Prejudice in Florida

In Florida, filing a notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice ends your own lawsuit while preserving your right to bring the same claim again later, as long as the statute of limitations hasn’t expired. It’s a unilateral move under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420: no judge’s signature, no defendant’s consent, provided you meet the timing and procedural requirements.¹ The filing itself is simple. The consequences are where people get hurt.

What “Without Prejudice” Actually Means

A dismissal without prejudice ends the current case but leaves your claim alive. You can refile it, subject to the limitations period. Under Rule 1.420, a voluntary dismissal is without prejudice by default — unless your notice explicitly says otherwise, that’s what the court will treat it as.¹

A dismissal with prejudice is the opposite. It operates as a final judgment on the merits and forever bars you from bringing the same claim against the same defendant.¹ Plaintiffs sometimes agree to it as part of a settlement. You wouldn’t do it accidentally if you understand what it means. Even so, spelling out “without prejudice” in the notice removes any doubt.

When You Can Still File the Notice

The unilateral window closes fast. Before trial, you can serve a notice of voluntary dismissal at any time before a hearing on a motion for summary judgment. If no such motion has been filed, or if one was filed and denied, the window stays open.¹ The rule refers to “motion for summary judgment” without saying whose, so a hearing on either side’s motion can cut off your right.

Once trial is underway, you dismiss on the record in open court rather than by written notice. In a jury trial, the cutoff is before the jury retires to deliberate. In a bench trial, it’s before the case is submitted to the judge.¹

Miss those cutoffs and you lose the unilateral right entirely. Ending the case then requires a stipulation signed by all parties or a court order, on whatever terms the judge considers appropriate.

Drafting, Filing, and Serving the Notice

There’s no state-issued form. You draft a document titled “Notice of Voluntary Dismissal” that includes the full case caption — party names, case number, and court — and states clearly that the plaintiff is voluntarily dismissing the action. Say whether the dismissal is with or without prejudice. Silence defaults to without prejudice, but writing it in avoids any argument later.

Filing goes through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal. Self-represented parties can also file in person at the Clerk of Court in the county where the case was originally filed.

After filing, serve a copy on the opposing party or their attorney. Under the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration, service after the initial process is typically done by email — a PDF attachment or the e-filing portal’s service function — and hand delivery is also acceptable. Include a certificate of service on the notice showing the date, method, and recipient.

The legal effect is immediate. Once the notice is filed and served, the court loses jurisdiction over the merits. No order is required. The only matters the court can still address are collateral issues like costs, fees, and sanctions that were already in play before the dismissal.¹

The Statute of Limitations Trap

This is the point that catches people. Filing a lawsuit in Florida does not pause the statute of limitations. If you dismiss without prejudice and plan to refile, the limitations clock keeps running from the date of the original incident, not from the date of your dismissal. If the period expires while the first case is pending or during the gap before refiling, your claim is dead — “without prejudice” on the notice does not revive it.

Florida’s limitations periods vary by claim. Negligence carries a two-year window. Actions on a written contract allow five years. Intentional torts such as assault or battery have a four-year period, as do claims on oral contracts.² If the underlying incident happened three and a half years ago and you dismiss a negligence claim, you’ve already passed the two-year deadline. Refiling isn’t an option regardless of the label on the notice.

Before you file the notice, calculate exactly how much time is left on your limitations period. If the answer is “not much” or “none,” a dismissal without prejudice gives you the illusion of preserving your rights while actually surrendering them.

The Two-Dismissal Rule

Florida follows the two-dismissal rule. Your first voluntary dismissal of a claim is without prejudice by default. If you refile that same claim and voluntarily dismiss it a second time, the second dismissal automatically operates as an adjudication on the merits. It’s with prejudice, and the claim is gone for good.¹ This applies even if the first dismissal happened in a different court.

The rule exists to stop plaintiffs from cycling through file-and-dismiss as a tactic. A plaintiff who dismisses, refiles, then dismisses again thinking there are still options can lose the claim permanently without realizing it.

When You Can’t Dismiss by Notice Alone

The unilateral right isn’t universal. Rule 1.420 sets out situations where you need either the other side’s agreement or a court order:

Property is in the court’s custody. If assets have been seized or are being held by the court as part of the case, you cannot file a unilateral notice. A court order is required. This comes up in foreclosures, replevin actions, and other real estate disputes where the court controls property.¹
A counterclaim is pending. Dismissing the main action doesn’t kill a counterclaim the defendant has already filed. The court will not dismiss the action over the defendant’s objection unless the counterclaim can remain pending for separate adjudication.
The timing cutoffs have passed. Once the summary judgment hearing or the trial cutoff has arrived, you need a stipulation from all parties or a court order.

Costs and Fees the Defendant Can Still Pursue

Ending the lawsuit doesn’t end your financial exposure. The defendant has 30 days after being served with the notice of voluntary dismissal to move for reimbursement of taxable court costs.³ Taxable costs typically include filing fees, witness fees, and deposition transcript costs — not the defendant’s full legal bill.

Attorney’s fees are a separate question. Florida generally follows the American Rule: each side pays its own lawyers. Exceptions exist. A contract between the parties may include a fee-shifting provision, or a specific statute may authorize fees for the type of claim involved. Florida Statute 57.105 also allows the court to award fees when a party raises claims or defenses that lack any good-faith basis in law or fact, and a voluntary dismissal does not strip the court of jurisdiction to impose those sanctions if the 57.105 process was already underway before the dismissal.⁴

If You Recorded a Lis Pendens

A voluntary dismissal automatically dissolves any lis pendens tied to the dismissed claim under Rule 1.420(f). To clear the title, the notice, stipulation, or order of dismissal must be recorded in the public records.¹ If you refile the claim, you’d need to record a new lis pendens with the new case.

1
The Florida Bar. Florida Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 1.420 Dismissal of Actions
2
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 95.11 – Limitations Other Than for the Recovery of Real Property
3
The Florida Bar. Florida Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 1.525
4
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 57.105 – Attorney Fee; Sanctions for Raising Unsupported Claims or Defenses