BROWN, J.
Peg Zaremba appeals the trial court’s dismissal with prejudice of her claim against Jessica Nevarez and John Nevarez for rent and damages. Zaremba raises two issues, which we consolidate and restate as whether the trial court abused its discretion by denying Zaremba’s motion to correct error concerning the trial court’s dismissal with prejudice of Zaremba’s complaint. We reverse and remand.
The relevant facts follow. On February 1, 2008, Zaremba filed a small claims eviction complaint against the Nevarezes under Cause Number 64D04-0802-SC-629 (“Cause No. 629”). On February 22, 2008, the trial court held a hearing on ejectment with both parties present.1 Zaremba advised the trial court that the Nevarezes had vacated the premises. The trial court set a hearing on damages for March 14, 2008. On March 14, 2008, the trial court entered an order indicating that the parties appeared for an initial hearing and setting a bench trial for May 30, 2008. On May 30, 2008, Zaremba failed to appear, but her counsel appeared and requested dismissal without prejudice. The trial court dismissed the matter without prejudice. On July 7, 2008, Zaremba filed a claim against the Nevarezes for $2,063.39 in connection with the rental property under Cause Number 64D04-0807-SC-3733 (“Cause No. 3733”). On August 14, 2008, the trial court dismissed Zaremba’s claim with prejudice. . . .
On August 19, 2008, Zaremba filed a motion to correct error and argued that the trial court erred by relying on the dismissal without prejudice of Cause No. 629 as a basis for res judicata. [The trial court denied this motion.] . . .
Zaremba argues that the trial court abused its discretion when it: (A) determined that a previous dismissal without prejudice could serve as res judicata for a subsequent refiling of the same claim; and (B) stated that a plaintiff who fails to appear one time for trial in a small claims case was required to seek relief pursuant to Ind. Trial Rule 60. We will address these arguments separately.
The trial court dismissed Zaremba’s complaint in Cause No. 3733 with prejudice because the finding of dismissal in Cause No. 629 “served as res judicata” for the subsequent complaint. Appellant’s Appendix at 20. Zaremba argues that the dismissal of Cause No. 629 cannot serve as the basis for res judicata. We agree. “Under the doctrine of res judicata, judgment rendered on the merits is an absolute bar to a subsequent action between the same parties or those in privity with them on the same claim or demand.” Gill v. Pollert, 810 N.E.2d 1050, 1057 (Ind. 2004) (quoting Sullivan v. American Cas. Co., 605 N.E.2d 134, 137 Â (Ind. 1992)). “For principles of res judicata to apply, there must have been a final judgment on the merits and that judgment must have been entered by a court of competent jurisdiction.” Matter of Sheaffer, 655 N.E.2d 1214, 1217 (Ind. 1995).
In Cause No. 629, Zaremba’s attorney requested dismissal without prejudice and the trial court dismissed the matter “without prejudice.” Appellant’s Appendix at 17. Because Cause No. 629 was dismissed without prejudice, it was not a judgment on the merits. Consequently, we conclude that Zaremba’s complaint in Cause No. 3733 was not barred by the doctrine of res judicata. See, e.g., In re L.B., 889 N.E.2d 326, 333-334 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008) (holding that the second petition for the involuntary termination of father’s parental rights to his children was not barred by the doctrine of res judicata because the first petition was dismissed without prejudice due to a procedural error and did not finally determine the underlying issues on the merits); Wood v. Zeigler Bldg. Materials, Inc., 436 N.E.2d 1168, 1170 Â (Ind. Ct. App. 1982) (“A dismissal without prejudice is not a determination of the merits of a complaint and does not bar a later trial of the issues.”); C. L. B. v. S. T. P., 167 Ind. App. 10, 15 , 337 N.E.2d 582, 585 (1975) (“We are of the opinion that the first petition filed by the petitioner was not res judicata as there was no judgment rendered on the merits and there was no adjudication in the former suit. In fact the cause was dismissed sua sponte without prejudice by the court.”) Thus, we conclude that the trial court abused its discretion by dismissing Zaremba’s claim on this basis.
. . . .
. . . [I]n Multivest [Properties v. Hughes, 671 N.E.2d 199 (Ind. Ct. App. 1996)], we did not hold that “it is Plaintiff’s obligation to seek relief from the dismissal without prejudice under Rule 60 prior to refiling the case,” as stated by the trial court. Appellant’s Appendix at 30. Rather, we held that Ind. Small Claims Rule 10 is specific and “[d]ismissal with prejudice is contemplated only when the plaintiff again fails to appear after the claim has been refiled.” Id. (quoting Wood, 436 N.E.2d at 1170 ). Here, the record does not reveal that Zaremba failed to appear after the claim was refiled. Thus, Ind. Small Claims Rule 10(A) does not contemplate dismissal with prejudice under the circumstances. As previously mentioned, the Nevarezes did not file an appellee’s brief, and we will not develop arguments on their behalf. With this in mind, we conclude that the trial court abused its discretion by dismissing Zaremba’s claim with prejudice and denying Zaremba’s motion to correct error. See Multivest, 671 N.E.2d at 201-202 (reversing and remanding for a determination on the merits after a presentation of the evidence). For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the trial court’s dismissal of Zaremba’s claim against the Nevarezes and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Reversed and remanded.
ROBB, J. and CRONE, J. concur