Sorks-Iturup

In this appeal of Unimak America, LLC, CMK Vessel Management, LLC, and William Turner (collectively, “Unimak”), we consider the district court’s order denying a motion to intervene in a maritime case and the district court’s dismissal of the case under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1). Plaintiff-Appellee Samho Company, LTD. (“Samho”), a South Korean company, sued four Russian defendants for breach of a maritime contract in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. The defendants could not be found in the district, so Samho sought a writ of attachment against Unimak based on the allegation that Unimak possessed assets owned by the defendants within the district. Unimak responded with an answer to the writ stating that it did not possess any assets owned by the defendants.

Samho subsequently voluntarily dismissed all of its claims against the defendants pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1), but purported to reserve claims against two of the defendants brought under Rule B of the Supplemental Rules for Admiralty or Maritime Claims and Asset Forfeiture Actions (“Rule B”). Unimak later filed an answer to the complaint, a motion…