UIC Law Review Volume 21 Issue 3 Article 5 Spring 1988 Voluntary Dismissals - From Shield to Sword by the Convergence of Improvident Actions, 21 J. Marshall L. Rev. 549 (1988) James T. Ferrini Richard R. Winter Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.law.uic.edu/lawreview Part of the Civil Law Commons, Civil Procedure Commons, Litigation Commons, and the State and Local Government Law Commons Recommended Citation James T. Ferrini & Richard R. Winter, Voluntary Dismissals - From Shield to Sword by the Convergence of Improvident Actions, 21 J. Marshall L. Rev. 549 (1988) https://repository.law.uic.edu/lawreview/vol21/iss3/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by UIC Law Open Access Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in UIC Law Review by an authorized administrator of UIC Law Open Access Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. VOLUNTARY DISMISSALS-FROM SHIELD TO SWORD BY THE CONVERGENCE OF IMPROVIDENT ACTIONS JAMES T. FERRINI* AND RICHARD R. WINTER** PREFATORY NOTE This article suggests an appropriate legislative response to sev- eral recent Illinois Appellate Court decisions that have examined the right of voluntary dismissal and found it inviolable-notwithstand- ing that it was exercised transparently to evade previously entered discovery sanctions or pending defense motions. The proposals set forth in this article are made after consideration of the common law and statutory developments of the plaintiff's right to voluntarily dis- miss his case and to refile. This historical review suggests that the sources of this "absolute" right are recent and improvident events.