MCLEOD v. SMITH et al

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
VALDOSTA DIVISION
RICHARD JERRY McLEOD,
Plaintiff,
v.
CATHERINE SMITH,
et al.,
Defendants.
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CASE NO:
7:26-cv-05–WLS
ORDER
Presently before the Court is the pro se Plaintiff’s Motion for Dismissal Without
Prejudice (“Motion”) (Doc. 13). Therein, Plaintiff requests the Court dismiss his “above-styled
civil action” without prejudice pursuant to Federal Rule 44. However, Plaintiff’s Motion
requires clarification as to two matters.
First, the caption in Plaintiff Motion refers to only “CATHERINE M. SMITH” as
“Defendant” without referencing “et al.” or any other Defendants. Second, Federal Rule 44
does not apply to the dismissal of a case or parties from a case. Rather, Federal Rule 41 applies
to dismissal of actions.
Accordingly, as Plaintiff is proceeding pro se and to ensure his Motion is properly
considered, Plaintiff is hereby ORDERED to file an amended Motion clarifying the Federal
Rule under which he is proceeding and whether he intends to voluntarily dismiss his action
without prejudice as to all Defendants. Such amended Motion shall be filed no later than
Monday, April 6, 2026.
SO ORDERED, this 24th day of March 2026.
/s/W. Louis Sands
W. LOUIS SANDS, SR. JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
Case 7:26-cv-00005-WLS Document 14 Filed 03/24/26 Page 1 of 1