2025-cv-02422

COMPLAINT filed by Toho Co., Ltd.; Filing fee $ 405, receipt number AILNDC-23177292.

Exhibit 1 TM Registrations

Exhibit 2 CBP

Exhibit 3 IP Rights

(Exhibit 4 DHS)

CIVIL Cover Sheet

SEALED EXHIBIT by Plaintiff Toho Co., Ltd. - Schedule A to Complaint - regarding complaint 1

MOTION by Plaintiff Toho Co., Ltd. to seal document exhibit 3

NOTIFICATION of Affiliates pursuant to Local Rule 3.2 by Toho Co., Ltd.

ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Toho Co., Ltd. by Matthew A. Werber

CASE ASSIGNED to the Honorable Joan B. Gottschall. Designated as Magistrate Judge the Honorable Daniel P. McLaughlin. Case assignment: Random assignment. (Civil Category 2).

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.

ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Toho Co., Ltd. by Erica J. Van Loon (Van Loon, Erica)

ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Toho Co., Ltd. by Peter Krusiewicz

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Joan B. Gottschall: Enter order giving plaintiff until and including March 17, 2025, to show cause why joinder of the 54 defendants is proper under Fed. R. Civ. P. 20(a)(2) and Bailie v. Schedule A Defendants, 734 F. Supp. 3d 798 (N.D. Ill. 2024). Mailed notice

ORDER Signed by the Honorable Joan B. Gottschall on 3/10/2025.Mailed notice

ORDER: An initial status report is due on or before May 9, 2025. Counsel and parties are directed to familiarize themselves with the pretrial procedures in Judge Gottschall's case management packet, which is available from the court's website at https://www.ilnd.uscourts.gov. Please pay particular attention to the requirement to exchange initial disclosures within fourteen days of the parties' initial discovery planning conference and the court's requirement that the parties are to explore settlement opportunities and identify areas of agreement prior to the filing of the first status report. If, by the due date of the scheduled status report, defendants have not been served, plaintiff should email chambers_gottschall@ilnd.uscourts.gov to reset the status date. Counsel in cases removed from another court should follow these procedures to the extent applicable. See the order and Judge Gottschall's case management packet for further details. Signed by the Honorable Joan B. Gottschall on 3/10/2025. Mailed notice

STANDING ORDER IN "SCHEDULE A" CASES Signed by the Honorable Joan B. Gottschall on 3/10/2025. Mailed notice

MEMORANDUM text entry, 9 by Toho Co., Ltd. -- Regarding Joinder --

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Joan B. Gottschall: In its memorandum 13 in support of joinder of the fifty-four defendants, plaintiff concedes (p. 6) that if the court applies Bailie v. Defendants on Schedule A, 734 F. Supp. 3d 798 (N.D. Ill. 2024), joinder should be denied, and plaintiff should be given an opportunity to amend its complaint. Having reached a reasoned decision in Bailie based on adversarial briefing, the court will follow Bailie unless and until it is given a sufficient reason to revisit the holding in that case. Plaintiff cites no newly decided authority in its memorandum. Rather, plaintiff relies on cases this court considered and ultimately found unpersuasive, in pertinent part, in Bailie; these cases adopt the so-called "swarm" theory of joinder in "Schedule A" cases. See Mem. Joinder 3-4. Because plaintiff has not provided a sufficient reason to revisit Bailie, the court applies it here, finds that defendants are improperly joined, and orders plaintiff to file an amended complaint on or before March 26, 2025. Consistent with Fed. R. Civ. P. 20(a)(2) and Bailie, plaintiff must eliminate from the amended complaint all improperly joined defendants. Mailed notice

AMENDED complaint by Toho Co., Ltd. against THE INDIVIDUALS, CORPORATIONS, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES, PARTNERSHIPS AND UNINCORPORATED ASSOCIATIONS IDENTIFIED ON SCHEDULE A HERETO

Exhibit 1 - TM Registrations

Exhibit 2 - CBP

Exhibit 3 - IP Rights

Exhibit 4 - DHS

(- Amended Schedule A -)

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Joan B. Gottschall: Plaintiff's motion 4 for leave to file certain documents under seal on a temporary basis is granted. The Clerk is instructed to maintain the seal on all presently sealed documents until further order of court. Mailed notice

MOTION by Plaintiff Toho Co., Ltd.- expedited discovery and electronic service - PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR EXPEDITED DISCOVERY AND ELECTRONIC SERVICE

Declaration of Matt Werber re e-service

Exhibit A to Matt Werber Declaration

Exhibit B to Matt Werber Declaration

Exhibit C to Matt Werber Declaration

Exhibit D to Matt Werber Declaration

(Unpublished)

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Joan B. Gottschall: Plaintiff's ex parte motion 17 for leave to conduct expedited discovery and for leave to serve the summons and complaint by electronic means is denied for failure to comply with Local Rule 5.5(d). That rule provides: "A motion for an ex parte order shall be accompanied by an affidavit showing cause for withholding service and stating whether a previous application for similar relief has been made." The declaration [17-1] accompanying plaintiff's motion makes no mention of prior applications for ex parte relief and does not explain why the motion should not be served upon defendant. Plaintiff's motion 17 for leave under Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(f)(3) to serve the summons and complaint by electronic delivery is denied for the additional reason that plaintiff appears to have located a valid mailing address in China for defendant. The screenshot in the declaration of Matthew A. Werber, ECF No. [17 1] ¶ 5, shows the results of a Google maps search for the following address: No. 2, 6th Floor Building 2, No. 16 Julong Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu, Sichuan Province. On the screenshot, Google Maps reports the address as "Partial match." Id. Only the room number did not match, meaning the street address and floor number are presumptively valid. Therefore, defendant's mailing address is known, and the exception in Article I of the Hague Service Convention does not apply. See Luxottica Group S.p.A. v. Defs. Identified on Sched. A, 391 F. Supp. 3d 816, 820-21 (N.D. Ill. 2019). Based on the evidence in the record, plaintiff must serve the summons and complaint in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 4 and the Hague Service Convention. The next status report is due by and including June 9, 2025. Mailed notice

NOTICE of Voluntary Dismissal by Toho Co., Ltd.

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Joan B. Gottschall: This case is dismissed without prejudice pursuant to plaintiff's notice of voluntary dismissal 19 filed June 5, 2025. Case terminated. Mailed notice