Re: Fw: [FSF] FSF Settles Suit Against Cisco

[Hyman Rosen]

Alan Mackenzie wrote:
> Now come on, old RJ.  You're not village idiot enough to equate
> "dismissed with prejudice" with "tossed out as meritless".  You've read
> enough web pages where it's been explained what really happened.

Maybe he is. Who knows?

Anyway, when the parties to a lawsuit settle and agree to have the suit
dismissed with prejudice, it means that the plaintiff agrees that his
complaint has been satisfied and will not a file another claim in the
same matter. Presumably, experienced defense lawyers will make this part
of a settlement agreement so that the plaintiff can't change his mind a
little bit later and sue all over again.

And of course, there's a major difference between a judge dismissing a
claim with prejudice and the plaintiff doing so as part of a settlement.
In the former case, the judge really is tossing out the suit as meritless.
In the latter case, the plaintiff is satisfied by the settlement and the
defendant wants assurances of this.

Here's a recent similar example:
<http://imperialvalleynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5222&Itemid=2>
    "Terminator Salvation" Lawsuit Dismissed With Prejudice After
    Settlement Reached
    Hollywood, California - Halcyon Co. co-CEOs Derek Anderson and
    Victor Kubicek and producer Moritz Borman announced today that
    Mr. Borman’s lawsuit against Halcyon has been dismissed with
    prejudice after the two sides amicably resolved all of the
    outstanding differences between them related to the upcoming
    film “Terminator Salvation.”

    Said Messrs. Borman, Anderson and Kubicek: “We are glad to have
    these issues behind us so we can focus on working with our
    filmmakers and our studio partners at Warner Bros and Sony
    Pictures to give Terminator fans the next amazing installment in
    this enduring series of films.”