213134P.pdf   08/30/2022  Robert Morrow  v.  United States
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  21-3134
   U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - Eastern   
   [PUBLISHED] [Smith, Author, with Colloton and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] 
   Civil case - Federal Tort Claims Act. Plaintiff alleged the VA failed to 
   provide their decedent with adequate medical care after he was diagnosed 
   with lung cancer; plaintiffs failed to serve the United States with a 
   certificate of merit and an affidavit signed by an expert witness stating 
   the appropriate standard of care and its alleged breach with the time 
   permitted by Iowa Code Sec. 147.140(1)(a), and the government moved for 
   summary judgment; after the government filed its motion, plaintiffs moved 
   to voluntarily dismiss without prejudice; the district court denied that 
   motion and granted the government summary judgment. Held: the district 
   court did not abuse its discretion by denying plaintiffs' motion to 
   dismiss the case voluntarily; the district court did not err in granting 
   the government summary judgment based on plaintiffs' failure to serve the 
   certificate of merit within the time allowed by the Iowa statute.