Rule Text
(a) A discontinuance shall be the exclusive method of voluntary termination of an action, in whole or in part, by the plaintiff before commencement of the trial.
(b) (1) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b)(2), a discontinuance may not be entered as to less than all defendants except upon the written consent of all parties or leave of court upon motion of any plaintiff or any defendant for whom plaintiff has stipulated in writing to the discontinuance.
(2) In an action governed by Rule 1042.3, a plaintiff may enter a discontinuance as to a defendant if a certificate of merit as to that defendant has not been filed.
(c) The court, upon petition and after notice, may strike off a discontinuance in order to protect the rights of any party from unreasonable inconvenience, vexation, harassment, expense, or prejudice.
Amendment history: The provisions of this Rule 229 adopted September 30, 1949, effective April 1, 1950; amended April 18, 1975, effective immediately, 5 Pa.B. 1820; amended March 11, 1991, effective July 1, 1991, 21 Pa.B. 1274; amended July 18, 1991, effective January 1, 1992, 21 Pa.B. 3399; amended April 12, 1999, effective July 1, 1999, 29 Pa.B. 2266; amended January 27, 2003, effective immediately, 33 Pa.B. 748; amended March 9, 2015, effective April 8, 2015, 45 Pa.B. 1490. Immediately preceding text appeared at serial pages (331696), (306107) and (328339).
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
If you file a lawsuit and later decide you want to drop it before trial starts, you have to do it through something called a "discontinuance." This is the only proper way to voluntarily end your case, either the whole thing or just part of it.
If your case has more than one defendant and you only want to drop the case against some of them (not all), you generally need everyone's written agreement or the judge's permission. There's one exception: if you're suing a professional (like a doctor or lawyer) and the case requires a "certificate of merit" proving your claim has some basis, you can drop that specific defendant if you never filed that certificate against them.
Even after you discontinue a case, the other side can ask the judge to cancel that discontinuance. The judge will do this if dropping the case would cause unfair problems for the other party, like wasting their time and money, creating unnecessary hassle, or putting them at an unfair disadvantage. Basically, courts want to make sure people can't use a discontinuance to unfairly mess with the other side.
Committee Notes
Rule 1042.3 requires the filing of a certificate of merit as to a defendant against whom a professional liability claim is asserted.
Court approval of a discontinuance must be obtained in any action in which a minor is a party, Rule 2039(a), an action for wrongful death in which a minor is beneficially interested, Rule 2206(a), an action in which an incapacitated person is a party, Rule 2064, and a class action, Rule 1714.
A plaintiff who asserts a cause of action ex contractu and joins as defendants persons liable to the plaintiff in different capacities may not discontinue as to a defendant primarily liable without discontinuing as to all defendants secondarily liable. Rule 2231(e).
