ENTERED JUDGMENT Mailed notice
Rekas v. Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A
案件进展
30 条记录MINUTE entry before the Honorable Jeffrey I Cummings: Plaintiff's motion for leave to file under seal [32] and for excess pages [31] are granted. However, for the following reasons, plaintiff's motion for TRO [26] is denied and this case is dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction. On 4/14/26, the Court directed the plaintiff's motion for TRO in light of the Seventh Circuit's ruling in Liu v. Monthly, 170 F.4th 1090 (7th Cir. 2026), and directed plaintiff to file either an amended complaint or a supplemental submission establishing a basis for personal jurisdiction over the defendant. The Court advised further that if an amended complaint or supplemental statement consistent with this order and Seventh Circuit precedent was not filed by 5/1/26, this action may be dismissed without prejudice for lack of personal jurisdiction. See Enduring Love Int'l Church v. Williams, No. 23-CV-1120-PP, 2024 WL 3553979, at *2 (E.D.Wis. July 26, 2024) ("Although sua sponte dismissal of claims for lack of personal jurisdiction is generally disfavored, district courts retain discretion to depart from that principle"). Plaintiff has since filed a renewed motion and supplemental submissions purporting to establish personal jurisdiction. Those submissions, however, remain deficient. Plaintiff again provides a screenshot of defendant's website showing the checkout page, but not a completed purchase (Dckt. #28). Plaintiff also provides a declaration of plaintiff's counsel, (Dckt. #29), indicating that plaintiff's "investigators have placed orders with the defendants' shops and received orders to addresses within the Northern District of Illinois," as shown in the accompanying exhibit. The accompanying includes undated photos of an Amazon package and the purportedly infringing product. (Dckt. #30). But there is nothing in those photos that links the product to the defendant seller at issue here ("dunjingkekeji"). Notably, the delivery address listed on the package in the photo is different than the address listed in the checkout page. Accordingly, this case is dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction. The previously set 5/29/26 tracking status hearing is stricken. Civil case terminated. Mailed notice
原告撤诉/结案MOTION by Plaintiff Samantha Rekas to seal document sealed document[28], sealed document[30]
SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Samantha Rekas Exhibit 1 to Supplemental Delcaration of David Gulbransen
SUPPLEMENT to motion for temporary restraining order[26], memorandum in support of motion, [27] Supplemental Declaration Support of Jurisdiction
原告提交TRO申请MEMORANDUM by Samantha Rekas in support of motion for temporary restraining order[26]
原告提交TRO申请MINUTE entry before the Honorable Jeffrey I Cummings: Plaintiff's motion for TRO [17] is denied without prejudice in light of the Seventh Circuit's opinion in Liu v. Monthly, No. 25-2074, --- F.4th ----, 2026 WL 880018 (7th Cir. Mar. 31, 2026). In Liu, the Court vacated the district court's entry of default judgment because the "evidence upon which the district court relied for establishing personal jurisdiction showed only that it was possible to order the defendants' products and have them shipped to Illinois, not that such sales took place." Id. at *2. Specifically, the evidence in Liu consisted "of screenshots of [defendant seller's] website showing the checkout page with the infringing product, a Chicago shipping address, and the estimated total, but not a completed purchase." Id. Relying on NBA Props., Inc. v. HANWJH, 46 F.4th 614, 620 (7th Cir. 2022) and Curry v. Revolution Lab'ys, LLC, 949 F.3d 385, 400 (7th Cir. 2020), the Seventh Circuit explained that such evidence was insufficient to establish personal jurisdiction. Here, plaintiff has submitted the same type of evidence, i.e., screenshots of defendant's website showing the checkout pages, but not a completed purchase. (Dckt. #19). Accordingly, before this case may proceed, plaintiff must file either an amended complaint or a supplemental submission establishing a basis for personal jurisdiction over defendant. If an amended complaint or supplemental statement consistent with this order and Seventh Circuit precedent is not filed by 5/1/26, this action may be dismissed without prejudice for lack of personal jurisdiction. See Enduring Love Int'l Church v. Williams, No. 23-CV-1120-PP, 2024 WL 3553979, at *2 (E.D.Wis. July 26, 2024) ("Although sua sponte dismissal of claims for lack of personal jurisdiction is generally disfavored, district courts retain discretion to depart from that principle"). The previously set 2/27/26 tracking status hearing is stricken and reset to 5/29/26 at 9:00 a.m. (to track the case only, no appearance is required). Mailed notice.
原告撤诉/结案SUPPLEMENT to order on motion for temporary restraining order, order on motion to seal document, order on motion for leave to file excess pages, terminate deadlines and hearings, set deadlines/hearings, [23] Supplemental Memorandum in Support of Electronic Service
原告提交TRO申请MINUTE entry before the Honorable Jeffrey I Cummings: Plaintiff's motion for leave to file under seal [20] and motion for leave to file excess pages [21] are granted. Plaintiff's motion for temporary restraining order [17] including a request for service by email is entered and continued. On or before 2/12/26, plaintiff shall file a supplemental brief (not to exceed five pages) setting forth whyin plaintiff's viewthe Second Circuit's recent ruling in Smart Study Co., Ltd v. Shenzhenshixindajixieyouxiangongsi does not preclude electronic service in this matter. See Smart Study, No. 24-313, 2025 WL 3672740, at *4-6 (2d Cir. Dec. 18, 2025) (concluding that email service on Chinese defendants was prohibited by the Hague Convention and thus improper under Rule 4). The previously set 12/12/25 tracking status hearing is stricken and reset to 2/27/26 at 9:00 a.m. (to track the case only, no appearance is required). Mailed notice
法院批准TROANNUAL 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 12/31/2025: Mailed notice.
MOTION by Plaintiff Samantha Rekas to seal document sealed document 19
MEMORANDUM by Samantha Rekas in support of motion for temporary restraining order 17
原告提交TRO申请SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Samantha Rekas Amended Schedule A
MINUTE entry before the Honorable Jeffrey I Cummings: The Court has reviewed the plaintiff's supplemental memorandum on joinder 14 and determines, within its discretion, that plaintiff has failed to satisfy its burden to show that joinder of 89 defendants is proper in this matter under Fed.R.Civ.P. 20(a)(2). See Estee Lauder Cosms. Ltd. v. Partnerships & Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A, 334 F.R.D. 182, 185 (N.D.Ill. 2020) (noting that "[plaintiff] bears the burden of demonstrating that joinder is proper"); H-D U.S.A. v. Partnerships & Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule "A", No. 21-CV-01041, 2021 WL 780486, at *2 (N.D.Ill. Mar. 1, 2021) ("The Seventh Circuit has recognized the broad discretion that district courts have in remedying misjoinder, so long as the court's decision avoids unnecessary harm to the parties."). Beyond alleging that the almost 90 defendants are infringing upon plaintiff's copyrights, which alone is insufficient to establish the propriety of joinder, see Estee Lauder, 334 F.R.D. at 187, plaintiff argues that early evidence tends to suggest that many of the defendants are "clustered" the Shenzhen area of China, the "majority" use the same photograph, and defendants appear to be linked to the same Chinese wholesale website and manufacturer. Within its discretion, the Court finds these speculations insufficient to warrant joinder of the 89 defendants in this matter. See H-D U.S.A., 2021 WL 780486, at *3 ("Combining hundreds of unrelated defendants in one case creates a burden on courts since courts must evaluate the evidence submitted in support of liability and, eventually, apportion damages among the parties."). Plaintiff is granted leave to file an amended complaint consistent with this order, along with a supplemental memorandum explaining specifically why each defendant is properly joined to all of the others, by 11/10/25. Plaintiff's motion for TRO 8 is denied without prejudice and with leave to renew at a later date, as appropriate. The 10/31/25 tracking status hearing is stricken and reset to 12/12/25 at 9:00 a.m. (to track the case only, no appearance is required). Mailed notice
原告提交TRO申请SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Samantha Rekas Supplemental Memo in Support of Joinder
MINUTE entry before the Honorable Jeffrey I Cummings: This case has been re-assigned to the calendar of Judge Jeffrey I. Cummings. Plaintiff's motions for leave to file under seal [5] [11] and motion for leave to file excess pages [12] are granted. Plaintiff's motion for temporary restraining order [8] is entered and continued generally. Upon review of the complaint and the TRO submissions, the Court sua sponte raises the proprietary of joinder of almost 90 defendants in this case. See, e.g. Estee Lauder Cosmetics Ltd. v. Schedule A, 334 F.R.D. 182 (N.D.Ill. 2020). By 9/26/25, plaintiff shall file a supplemental memorandum addressing the propriety of joinder in light of the principles described in Estee Lauder. In the alternative, plaintiff has leave to file an amended complaint with a smaller subset of defendants along with its memorandum explaining specifically why each defendant is properly joined to all of the others. Estee Lauder, 334 F.R.D. at 189. Tracking status hearing set for 10/31/25 at 9:00 a.m. to track the case only (no appearance is required and the case will not be called). Mailed notice
法院批准TROMOTION by Plaintiff Samantha Rekas for leave to file excess pages
MOTION by Plaintiff Samantha Rekas to seal document sealed document, [10], sealed document[2]
SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Samantha Rekas Exhibit 2 to Declaration of Plaintiff
MEMORANDUM by Samantha Rekas in support of motion for temporary restraining order[8]
原告提交TRO申请MOTION by Plaintiff Samantha Rekas for temporary restraining order
原告提交TRO申请MINUTE entry before the Executive Committee: Case Reassigned to the Honorable Jeffrey I Cummings. The Honorable Robert W. Gettleman no longer assigned to the case pursuant 28 USC 294(b). Mailed notice
MAILED Copyright report to Registrar, Washington DC
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.
CASE ASSIGNED to the Honorable Robert W. Gettleman. Designated as Magistrate Judge the Honorable Maria Valdez. Case assignment: Random assignment. (Civil Category 3).
MOTION by Plaintiff Samantha Rekas to seal document sealed document[2]
ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Samantha Rekas by David Lee Gulbransen, Jr
CIVIL Cover Sheet
SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Samantha Rekas Schedule A to Complaint
COMPLAINT filed by Samantha Rekas; Filing fee $ 405, receipt number AILNDC-23760342.
