Intersport Corp. d/b/a Wham-O v. The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Sunil R. Harjani: Before the Court is plaintiff's motion 23 for entry of a preliminary injunction. In connection with that motion, plaintiff must serve all defendants with the following statement: "The Court has taken the motion for a preliminary injunction under advisement and will consider the motion unopposed if no defendant appears and objects by 8/21/2024." If no objections are filed by that date, the Court will consider the motion unopposed. The Court will also rule on the papers unless a hearing is requested by 8/21/2024. A hearing, to be conducted via teleconferencing, may be requested by filing a Request for Hearing. Plaintiff must serve this minute order upon all remaining defendants within one business day of its entry on the docket and must promptly file proof of that service. Telephone status hearing set for 8/28/2024 at 9:15 a.m. is converted to a tentative preliminary injunction hearing. Mailed notice (lxs, ) (Entered: 08/13/2024)

MEMORANDUM by Intersport Corp. d/b/a Wham-O in support of motion for preliminary injunction 23 (Attachments: # 1 Declaration of Keith A. Vogt, # 2 Exhibit 1, of Keith A. Vogt's Declaration)(Vogt, Keith) (Entered: 08/13/2024)

MOTION by Plaintiff Intersport Corp. d/b/a Wham-O for preliminary injunction (Vogt, Keith) (Entered: 08/13/2024)

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Sunil R. Harjani: Plaintiff's Ex Parte Motion to Extend the Temporary Restraining Order 21 is granted. For the reasons stated in Plaintiff's Motion, the Court finds good cause to extend the temporary restraining order an additional 14 days to 8/28/2024. Plaintiff shall file a preliminary injunction motion if appropriate no later than 8/21/2024. Telephone status hearing set for 8/14/2024 is stricken and reset to 8/28/2024 at 9:15 a.m. (ca, ) (Entered: 08/08/2024)

MOTION by Plaintiff Intersport Corp. d/b/a Wham-O for extension of time for Temporary Restraining Order 19 (Vogt, Keith) (Entered: 08/08/2024)

SEALED Temporary Restraining Order Signed by the Honorable Sunil R. Harjani on 7/31/2024. Mailed notice(lxs, ) (Entered: 07/31/2024)

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Sunil R. Harjani: Plaintiff has filed an Amended Schedule A 11 to the Complaint. At this preliminary stage and in the absence of adversarial presentation, the Court finds that joinder of 50 Defendants is proper at this time and this case may now proceed. Moreover, no defendants will be prejudiced by permitting joinder at this juncture. See Bose Corp. v. Partnerships & Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule "A", 334 F.R.D. 511, 517 (N.D. Ill. 2020). To the extent any defendant appears and objects to joinder, the Court will revisit the issue and is free to sever certain defendants from the case under Rule 21 at that time. Id. Plaintiff need not file a memorandum on the permissibility of joinder as directed by the Court's Order dated 7/31/2024. Plaintiff's motion for leave to file under seal 12, ex parte motion for a temporary restraining order, including a temporary injunction, a temporary asset restraint, expedited discovery, and service of process by email and/or electronic publication 14, and motion to exceed page limitation 13 are granted. Plaintiff's submissions establish that, were defendants to learn of these proceedings before the execution of plaintiff's requested preliminary injunctive relief, there is a significant risk that defendants could destroy relevant documentary evidence and hide or transfer assets beyond the reach of the Court. Accordingly, subject to unsealing at an appropriate time, plaintiff may file under seal the documents identified in the motion to seal. The Temporary Restraining Order being entered along with this minute order shall also be placed under seal. In addition, for the purpose of the motions cited above, plaintiff's filings support proceeding on an ex parte basis at this time. Specifically, and as noted above, were defendants to be informed of this proceeding before a TRO could issue, the Court finds that it is likely that their assets and websites would be redirected, thus defeating plaintiff's interests in identifying defendants, stopping defendants' infringing conduct, and obtaining an accounting. In addition, the evidence submitted by plaintiff shows a likelihood of success on the merits (including evidence of active infringement and sales into Illinois), that the harm to plaintiff is irreparable, and that an injunction is in the public interest. An injunction serves the public interest because of the consumer confusion caused by counterfeit goods, and there is no countervailing harm to defendants from an order directing them to stop infringement. 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 defendants. Expedited discovery is warranted to identify defendants and to implement the asset freeze. Enter Sealed Temporary Restraining Order at 4:00 p.m. on 7/31/2024. Plaintiff shall file the TRO extension motion (or a preliminary injunction motion) if appropriate no later than 8/7/2024. Telephone status hearing is set for 8/14/2024 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) 244-8681 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 (lxs, ) (Entered: 07/31/2024)

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Sunil R. Harjani: Plaintiff's motion for leave to file under seal 12, plaintiff's motion for temporary restraining order 14, and plaintiff's motion to exceed page limitation 13 are entered and continued. Upon review of the complaint and the TRO submissions, the Court sua sponte raises the proprietary of joinder of over 210 defendants in this case. See, e.g., Estee Lauder Cosmetics Ltd. v. Schedule A, 334 F.R.D. 182 (N.D. Ill. 2020). By 8/14/2024, 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. Mailed notice (lxs, ) (Entered: 07/31/2024)