Mercis B.V. v. The Individuals, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A Hereto
| Mercis B.V. |
| The Individuals, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A Hereto and The Individuals, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Amended Schedule A Hereto |
| 1:2024cv11936 |
| November 20, 2024 |
| U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois |
| Franklin U Valderrama |
| Trademark |
| 15 U.S.C. § 44 Trademark Infringement |
| Both |
Docket Report
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This docket was last retrieved on January 10, 2025. A more recent docket listing may be available from PACER.
| Document Text |
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Filing 23
ORDER: Signed by the Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama on 1/10/2025. Mailed notice. (jcm)
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| Filing 22 MINUTE entry before the Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama: For the reasons in the accompanying Order, the Court finds that Defendants in this case are not properly joined. Therefore, the amended complaint is dismissed without prejudice. Within 14 days of this Order, Plaintiff is directed to amend its complaint to eliminate all improperly joined defendants. If the second amended complaint names more than one defendant, Plaintiff must simultaneously file a memorandum explaining why joinder of those defendants is proper. Plaintiff's motion for leave to file excess page #14 and motion for a temporary restraining order #15 are denied as moot. Mailed notice. (jcm) |
| Filing 21 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Mercis B.V. Sealed Exhibit 2 (Hierl, Michael) |
| Filing 20 MEMORANDUM by Mercis B.V. Plaintiff's Memorandum in Support of Joinder (Attachments: #1 Exhibit 1)(Hierl, Michael) |
| Filing 19 Notice of Claims Involving Trademarks by Mercis B.V. (Hierl, Michael) |
| Filing 18 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Mercis B.V. Exhibit 3 Part 2 to Padberg Declaration (Hierl, Michael) |
| Filing 17 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Mercis B.V. Exhibit 3 Part 1 to Padberg Declaration (Hierl, Michael) |
| Filing 16 MEMORANDUM by Mercis B.V. in support of motion for temporary restraining order, #15 (Attachments: #1 Declaration Padberg Declaration, #2 Exhibit 1, #3 Exhibit 2, #4 Declaration Hierl Declaration, #5 Exhibit Hierl Exhibit 1, #6 Exhibit Hierl Exhibit 2, #7 Exhibit Hierl Exhibit 3, #8 Exhibit Hierl Exhibit 4)(Hierl, Michael) |
| Filing 15 MOTION by Plaintiff Mercis B.V. for temporary restraining order Plaintiff's Ex Parte Motion for Entry of a Temporary Restraining Order, Including a Temporary Injunction, a Temporary Asset Restraint, Expedited Discovery, and Service of Process by Email and/or Electronic Publication (Hierl, Michael) |
| Filing 14 MOTION by Plaintiff Mercis B.V. for leave to file excess pages Plaintiff's Motion to Exceed Page Limitation (Hierl, Michael) |
| Filing 13 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Mercis B.V. Amended Schedule A (Hierl, Michael) |
| Filing 12 AMENDED complaint by Mercis B.V. against The Individuals, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Amended Schedule A Hereto (Attachments: #1 Exhibit 1, #2 Exhibit 2)(Hierl, Michael) |
| Filing 11 MINUTE entry before the Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama: For the reasons stated in the motion, the Court grants Plaintiff's motion to seal #7 . However, on review of the Complaint #1 and Schedule A #8 , the Court raises the propriety of joinder of the 89 Defendants. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 20(a)(2) governs permissive joinder of defendants. It permits defendants to be joined in a single action if two conditions are met: (1) "any right to relief is asserted against them jointly, severally, or in the alternative with respect to or arising out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions"; and (2) "any question of law or fact common to all defendants will arise in the action." Fed. R. Civ. P 20(a)(2); see UWM Student Ass'n v. Lovell, 888 F.3d 854, 863 (7th Cir. 2018). As other courts within this District have held, "it is appropriate for federal courts to raise improper joinder on their own, especially when the sheer number of defendants waves a joinder red flag and ups the chances that the plaintiff should be paying separate filing fees for separate cases. The need for sua sponte evaluation also intensifies when it would take enormous time and effort to check the evidencesuch as screenshots of dozens and dozens of defendants' online storesamassed into a single case absent actual connections between the defendants." Estee Lauder Cosms. Ltd. v. Partnerships & Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A, 334 F.R.D. 182, 186 (N.D. Ill. 2020) (citing George v. Smith, 507 F.3d 605, 607 (7th Cir. 2007)); see also, e.g., Andrew Blair Bailie v. Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule "A," 24-cv-02150 Dkt. 28 (Apr. 24, 2024). Here, Plaintiff's allegations purporting to establish joinder are merely conclusory. For example, Plaintiff alleges that "The Defendant Internet Stores share unique identifiers, such as design elements and similarities of the counterfeit products offered for sale, establishing a logical relationship between them and suggesting that Defendants' illegal operations arise out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences." R. #1 , para. 4. Similar to another court in this District, this Court's "experience has shown that, while some individual defendants may operate several online stores, and while some individual defendants may coordinate with other defendants before or after the filing of the infringement action, rarely, if ever, have all defendants named in a Schedule A case worked together." Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. v. Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A, 24-cv-09401 Dkt. 23 (Oct. 18, 2024). Accordingly, the Court directs Plaintiff to file, on or before 1/8/2025, a supplemental memorandum addressing the propriety of joinder. Instead of the supplemental memorandum, by the same deadline, Plaintiff may file an amended complaint with (a) one defendant or (b) a subset of the defendants along with a memorandum explaining why joinder of those defendants is proper. Mailed notice. (jcm) |
| Filing 10 ANNUAL REMINDER: Pursuant to #Local Rule 3.2 (Notification of Affiliates)#, any nongovernmental party, other than an individual or sole proprietorship, must file a statement identifying all its affiliates known to the party after diligent review or, if the party has identified no affiliates, then a statement reflecting that fact must be filed. An affiliate is defined as follows: any entity or individual owning, directly or indirectly (through ownership of one or more other entities), 5% or more of a party. The statement is to be electronically filed as a PDF in conjunction with entering the affiliates in CM/ECF as prompted. As a reminder to counsel, parties must supplement their statements of affiliates within thirty (30) days of any change in the information previously reported. This minute order is being issued to all counsel of record to remind counsel of their obligation to provide updated information as to additional affiliates if such updating is necessary. If counsel has any questions regarding this process, this #LINK# will provide additional information. Signed by the Honorable Virginia M. Kendall on 12/20/2024: Mailed notice. (tg, ) |
| Filing 9 NOTIFICATION of Affiliates pursuant to Local Rule 3.2 by Mercis B.V. (Hierl, Michael) |
| Filing 8 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Mercis B.V. Sealed Schedule A (Hierl, Michael) |
| Filing 7 MOTION by Plaintiff Mercis B.V. to seal document Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to File Under Seal (Hierl, Michael) |
| Filing 6 ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Mercis B.V. by John Wilson (Wilson, John) |
| Filing 5 ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Mercis B.V. by Robert Payton Mcmurray (Mcmurray, Robert) |
| Filing 4 ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Mercis B.V. by William Benjamin Kalbac (Kalbac, William) |
| Filing 3 ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Mercis B.V. by Michael A. Hierl (Hierl, Michael) |
| Filing 2 CIVIL Cover Sheet (Hierl, Michael) |
| Filing 1 COMPLAINT filed by Mercis B.V.; Jury Demand. Filing fee $ 405, receipt number AILNDC-22750448. (Attachments: #1 Exhibit 1, #2 Exhibit 2)(Hierl, Michael) |
| CLERK'S NOTICE: Pursuant to Local Rule 73.1(b), a United States Magistrate Judge of this court is available to conduct all proceedings in this civil action. If all parties consent to have the currently assigned United States Magistrate Judge conduct all proceedings in this case, including trial, the entry of final judgment, and all post-trial proceedings, all parties must sign their names on the attached #Consent To# form. This consent form is eligible for filing only if executed by all parties. The parties can also express their consent to jurisdiction by a magistrate judge in any joint filing, including the Joint Initial Status Report or proposed Case Management Order. (dec, ) |
| CASE ASSIGNED to the Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama. Designated as Magistrate Judge the Honorable Young B. Kim. Case assignment: Random assignment. (Civil Category 2). (dec, ) |
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| Defendant: The Individuals, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A Hereto | |
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| Defendant: The Individuals, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Amended Schedule A Hereto | |
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| Plaintiff: Mercis B.V. | |
| Represented By: | Michael A. Hierl |
| Represented By: | William Benjamin Kalbac |
| Represented By: | Robert Payton Mcmurray |
| Represented By: | John Wilson |
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