Save the Bull Trout v. Williams

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the doctrine of claim preclusion barred environmental groups from challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2015 Bull Trout Recovery Plan in the District of Montana. The Ninth Circuit found that the plaintiffs “must bear the consequences of their strategic choices” in earlier litigation in the District of Oregon, where they initially decided not to amend their complaint to fix jurisdictional deficiencies identified by the district court and instead unsuccessfully appealed, after which they filed an unsuccessful motion to amend. The plaintiffs in the District of Oregon litigation, joined by one additional plaintiff, then filed a new lawsuit in the District of Montana to challenge the recovery plan for failing to incorporate recovery criteria that satisfied Endangered Species Act requirements. The groups’ complaint alleged that climate change would reduce bull trout habitat and stress existing populations. The Ninth Circuit noted that both the claim identity and privity elements of claim preclusion were met and further found that there was a final judgment in the District of Oregon.