It turns out this is only a problem in Wayland sessions and it doesn't matter how you open the document (nautlius or command line, such as `gedit doc.txt`) so changed the package.
** Package changed: nautilus (Ubuntu) => wayland (Ubuntu) -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1770898 Title: App window is not raised when a second document is opened (in Wayland sessions only) To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-shell/+bug/1770898/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs