01-1370 Goss Graphics Systems, Inc. v. DEV Industries, Inc., et al.

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“The first district judge should not have dismissed the case merely because she thought it likely to settle. The right time to dismiss a case is when the dispute between the parties has been definitively and finally resolved, not when it seems likely to be resolved. There was a chance the case would not settle, and indeed it did not, thus requiring the plaintiff to come back to court and precipitating the dispute that brings the case back before us for the third time. We have repeatedly criticized the practice of dismissing suits before they have been concluded, with leave to reinstate the suit.”

“The second judge’s action in denying the motion to reinstate Goss’ contempt case, an action for which the judge was ‘set up’ by the first judge’s action in dismissing the case with leave to reinstate, was an abuse of discretion on three grounds. First, there was no violation of local rules. Second, even if there had been, the sanction of refusing to reinstate, amounting to a dismissal of a probably meritorious case, was disproportionate to the wrong. Third, a refusal to settle a case is not a valid ground for dismissing it – there is no legal duty to settle litigation.”

Reversed.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Norgle, J., Posner, J.