Can a defendant recover attorney fees from a plaintiff who voluntarily dismisses the action?

Section 1717, subdivision (b)(2) provides: "Where an action has been voluntarily dismissed or dismissed pursuant to a settlement of the case, there shall be no prevailing party for purposes of this section." Thus, "[w]hen a plaintiff files a complaint containing causes of action within the scope of section 1717 (that is, causes of action sounding in contract and based on a contract containing an attorney fee provision), and the plaintiff thereafter voluntarily dismisses the action, section 1717 bars the defendant from recovering attorney fees incurred in defending those causes of action, even though the contract on its own terms authorizes recovery of those fees ." ( Santisas v. Goodin (1998) 17 Cal.4th 599, 617, 71 Cal.Rptr.2d 830, 951 P.2d 399.)