SUA SPONTE DISMISSALS
STANDARD OF REVIEW = ABUSE OF DISCRETION

Appellant, Betty K Agencies, LTD. ("Betty K"), challenges the district court's sua sponte order dismissing with prejudice its maritime claims against Appellees Tidal Wave Limited ("Tidal Wave") and M/V MONADA ("MONADA"). Because the district court dismissed the case with prejudice as a sanction for failure to answer a counterclaim and perfect service of process, without finding that Betty K acted with willful or contumacious disregard for court rules, and without finding that lesser sanctions were somehow inadequate, we vacate the district court's Dismissal Order and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Here, the district court ignored the unambiguous standard that has governed dismissals with prejudice. The Dismissal Order merely recites the rules Betty K purportedly violated, and makes no finding that Betty K's seemingly inadvertent and isolated mistake was willful or contumacious. Moreover, the district court failed to find, explicitly or implicitly, that lesser sanctions were inadequate to correct Betty K's untimely filing. The district court's failure to make either finding was a clear abuse of discretion.