The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has joined the Fourth, Fifth and Eleventh circuits in adopting the position that silent or unclear dismissal orders will be considered voluntary dismissals and voluntary first dismissals will be construed as without prejudice.

In a precedential Wednesday opinion in Papera v. Pennsylvania Quarry Bluestone, a unanimous three-judge panel of the appeals court ruled that plaintiffs whose lawsuit was closed when the parties reached a settlement agreement—which later fell through before it could be finalized—can file a new lawsuit making nearly identical claims because the district judge did not specify whether their case was dismissed with prejudice.