2024-cv-10913

COMPLAINT filed by Merch Traffic, LLC; Filing fee $ 405, receipt number AILNDC-22643339.

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SEALED EXHIBIT by Plaintiff Merch Traffic, LLC Schedule A regarding complaint[1]

MOTION by Plaintiff Merch Traffic, LLC for leave to file under seal

CIVIL Cover Sheet

NOTIFICATION of Affiliates pursuant to Local Rule 3.2 by Merch Traffic, LLC

Notice of Claims Involving Trademarks by Merch Traffic, LLC

ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Merch Traffic, LLC by Justin R. Gaudio

ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Merch Traffic, LLC by Amy Crout Ziegler

ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Merch Traffic, LLC by Kahlia Roe Halpern

CASE ASSIGNED to the Honorable Sunil R. Harjani. Designated as Magistrate Judge the Honorable Heather K. McShain. Case assignment: Random assignment. (Civil Category 2).

ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Merch Traffic, LLC by Luana Faria De Souza (Faria De Souza, Luana)

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.

AMENDED complaint by Merch Traffic, LLC against The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A

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(Exhibit 4)

SEALED EXHIBIT by Plaintiff Merch Traffic, LLC Amended Schedule A regarding amended complaint 11

MOTION by Plaintiff Merch Traffic, LLC for temporary restraining order including a Temporary Injunction, a Temporary Asset Restraint, and Expedited Discovery

MEMORANDUM by Merch Traffic, LLC in support of motion for temporary restraining order 13

DECLARATION of Justin R. Gaudio regarding memorandum in support of motion 14

Exhibit 1

Exhibit 2

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(Exhibit 4)

DECLARATION of Emily Holt regarding memorandum in support of motion 14

(Exhibit 1)

SEALED EXHIBIT by Plaintiff Merch Traffic, LLC Exhibit 2 regarding declaration 16

(Exhibit 2-1)

MOTION by Plaintiff Merch Traffic, LLC for Electronic Service of Process Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(f)(3)

MEMORANDUM by Merch Traffic, LLC in support of motion for miscellaneous relief 18

DECLARATION of Justin R. Gaudio regarding memorandum in support of motion 19

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(Exhibit 2)

MEMORANDUM by Merch Traffic, LLC Establishing that Joinder is Proper

DECLARATION of Justin R. Gaudio regarding memorandum 21

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Exhibit 7

(Exhibit 8)

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Sunil R. Harjani: The Court has reviewed the plaintiff's memorandum on joinder [21] and determines, within its discretion, that plaintiff has failed to satisfy its burden to show that joinder of 49 defendants is proper in this matter under Fed. R. Civ. P. 20(a)(2). See Estee Lauder Cosms. Ltd. v. P'ships & Unincorporated Ass'ns 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"). The Court observes that plaintiff's memorandum includes a fair amount of conclusory language about a logical relationship among all defendants but not much, if any, facts to actually support that relationship. Beyond alleging that the 49 defendants are infringing upon plaintiff's trademark, plaintiff claims generally that joinder is proper because, inter alia, the defendants share similarities such as: (1) use of nondescript seller aliases; (2) no credible information regarding defendants' physical addresses is provided; (3) defendants show evidence of market coordination, i.e., using the same advertising and marketing strategies to target consumers while attempting to evade enforcement; and (4) the ecommerce stores at the seller aliases often share unique identifiers, such as templates with common design elements that intentionally omit any contact information or other information for identifying Defendants or other Seller Aliases they operate or use. Doc. 21 at 7. The fact that defendants operate under nondescript aliases, do not provide credible physical address information, use the same advertising and marketing strategies to target consumers while attempting to evade enforcement, and use webpages that omit any contact information or other identifying information "does nothing to support joinder either because these allegations are highly generic and apply equally to individuals and entities engaging in activities that are wholly unrelated to this suit." Art Ask Agency v. Individuals, Corps., Ltd. Liab. Cos, P'ships, & Unincorporated Ass'ns Identified on Schedule "A", 2021 WL 5493226, at *2 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 23, 2021); Ilustrata Servicos Design, Ltda. v. P'Ships and Unincorporated Ass'ns on Schedule A, 2021 WL 5396690, at *2 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 18, 2021). Other than omitting contact or identifying information, plaintiff does provide any specific examples of the ecommerce stores' shared unique identifiers or common design elements and instead the record contains Exhibit 2 to the Declaration of Emily Holt (which includes 151 pages of screenshots from defendants' listings) without providing the Court with specific additional information from those listings that might in fact support joinder in this matter. See Doc. 17-1. It is not this Court's job to sift through hundreds of pages of materials to look for a relationship between the defendants. Moreover, "defendants with nearly identical product descriptions may in fact share no ties, with each simply copying the same description from elsewhere." Estee Lauder Cosms. Ltd., et al. v. The P'ships, et al., No. 20-cv-00845 (N.D. Ill. June 22, 2020) (Lee, J.) (Doc. 40 at 9); see also Estee Lauder, 334 F.R.D. at 188. Within its discretion, on this record, the Court finds that plaintiff has failed to meet its burden to show that joining all 49 defendants in this single lawsuit is proper here. See Viking Arm AS v. P'ships and Unincorporated Ass'ns Identified on Schedule A, 2024 WL 2953105, at *3 (N.D. Ill. June 6, 2024); Art Ask Agency, 2021 WL 5493226, at *2; H-D U.S.A. v. P'ships & Unincorporated Ass'ns Identified on Schedule "A", 2021 WL 780486, at *3 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 1, 2021). Accordingly, plaintiff's motion for temporary restraining order [13] and motion for electronic service [18] are denied without prejudice. Plaintiff's motion for leave to file under seal [3] is granted. By 11/20/2024, plaintiff is ordered to amend the complaint to eliminate all improperly joined defendants. H-D U.S.A., 2021 WL 780486, at *2 ("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."). Mailed notice

Second AMENDED complaint by Merch Traffic, LLC against moorinartshop, the Individuals and Entities Operating moorinartshop and terminating The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A

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(Exhibit 4)

EXHIBIT by Plaintiff Merch Traffic, LLC Second Amended Schedule A regarding amended complaint, 24

MOTION by Plaintiff Merch Traffic, LLC for discovery Expedited

MOTION by Plaintiff Merch Traffic, LLC for Electronic Service of Process Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(f)(3)

MEMORANDUM by Merch Traffic, LLC in support of motion for miscellaneous relief[27]

DECLARATION of Justin R. Gaudio regarding memorandum in support of motion[28]

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Sunil R. Harjani: Plaintiff's motion for expedited discovery 26 and motion for electronic service of process 27 are granted. Electronic service of process does not violate any treaty and is consistent with due process because it effectively communicates the pendency of this action to defendant. Expedited discovery is warranted to identify defendants, the nature of their operations, and all associated sales. Enter Order for Expedited Discovery and E-Service. By 1/15/2025, Plaintiff shall file a status report with an update on the case. Telephone status hearing is set for 1/22/2025 at 9:15 a.m. Members of the public and media will be able to call in to listen to this hearing but will be placed on mute. The call-in number is (855) 2448681 and the access code is 172 628 1276##. Persons granted remote access to proceedings are reminded of the general prohibition against photographing, recording, and rebroadcasting of court proceedings. Mailed notice

ORDER Signed by the Honorable Sunil R. Harjani on 11/26/2024. Mailed notice

SUMMONS Issued as to Defendant moorinartshop

SUMMONS Returned Executed by Merch Traffic, LLC as to moorinartshop on 12/11/2024, answer due 1/1/2025; the Individuals and Entities Operating moorinartshop on 12/11/2024, answer due 1/1/2025.

Declaration of Luana Faria de Souza

Exhibit A

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Sunil R. Harjani: Upon review of the docket, summons was issued on 12/3/2024 and Defendants' responses to the complaint are due by 1/2/2025. Plaintiff should file any motion for entry of default and default judgment by 1/16/2025. If default and default judgment are not being sought, Plaintiff is ordered to file a status report stating whether the parties anticipate a settlement or further litigation. Plaintiff need not file the status report as directed by the Court's Order dated 11/26/2024. The telephone status hearing set for 1/22/2025 at 9:15 a.m. stands. Mailed notice

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 12/27/2024: Mailed notice.

NOTICE of Voluntary Dismissal by Merch Traffic, LLC

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Sunil R. Harjani: Pursuant to Plaintiff's notice of voluntary dismissal 35 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A)(i), this matter is dismissed without prejudice as to the defendants (moorinartshop and the Individuals and Entities Operating moorinartshop) with each party to bear its own costs and fees. All pending motions, hearings, and deadlines are stricken. Civil case terminated. Mailed notice