Hells Canyon Preservation Council v. United States Forest Service

BERZON, Circuit Judge.

When a party withdraws one of its claims before the trial court enters judgment and the action is subsequently dismissed on the merits, does the trial court’s failure to indicate that the withdrawn claim was dismissed without prejudice necessarily render its decision a “final judgment on the merits” as to that claim? Because we answer this question in the negative, we reverse the district court’s dismissal of this suit on res judicata grounds and remand for further proceedings.

I

The Hells Canyon National Recreation Area (HCNRA), located on Oregon’s border with Idaho, was…