You will often seen that some legal matters get dimissed with (or without) prejudice.
Generally speaking, what does this mean? Is the judge reserving the right to change his/her mind (I’m almost positive that this isn’t it, but I don’t know).
Lawyers???
IANAL, but I am a copyeditor working on an introductory law textbook at this very moment. According to these authors, “with prejudice” means the case has been permanently decided or settled and cannot be refiled. “Without prejudice” means the case can be refiled.
I imagine you could find this by Google search, or in any law dictionary, as well.
to quote my legal dictionary:
Dismissal may be dismissal with prejudice, meaning it can never be filed again, or dismissal without prejudice, leaving open the possibility of bringing the suit again if the defendant does not follow through on the terms of the settlement.