Mark Young v. Bishop Estate

MEMORANDUM

Mark Wah Sun Young appeals from the final judgment of the district court dismissing with prejudice his claims against Defendants Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate, Robert Bruce Graham, Ashford & Wriston, LLP, Corbett A.K. Kalama, Diane J. Plotts, J. Douglas Ing, Nainoa Thompson, Robert K.U. Kihune, Ronald R. Sakamoto, and Judge Colleen K. Hirai (collectively, the “Ten Defendants”); and denying him leave to file an amended complaint against the remaining three Defendants, James Francis Vreehek, Jason Tani, and Frank Kanemitsu. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We affirm in part, vacate in part, and remand. Because the parties are familiar with the history of this case, we need not recount it here.

I

The district court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing with prejudice Young’s claims against the Ten Defendants, which he had voluntarily moved to dismiss pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 41(a)(2).

On appeal, Young correctly observes that Rule 41(a)(1) provided him “an absolute right” to voluntarily dismiss his claims against those defendants who had not yet answered his complaint nor moved for summary judgment. Concha v. London, 62 F.3d 1493, 1506 (9th…