| 1 | 2026-07-06 | COMPLAINT filed by Disney Enterprises, Inc.; Filing fee $ 405, receipt number AILNDC-25339853. |
| 3 | 2026-07-06 | MOTION by Plaintiff Disney Enterprises, Inc. for Leave to File Certain Documents Under Seal |
| 4 | 2026-07-06 | CIVIL Cover Sheet |
| 5 | 2026-07-06 | NOTIFICATION of Affiliates pursuant to Local Rule 3.2 by Disney Enterprises, Inc. |
| 6 | 2026-07-06 | Notice of Claims Involving Trademarks by Disney Enterprises, Inc. |
| 7 | 2026-07-06 | ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Disney Enterprises, Inc. by Martin Francis Trainor |
| 8 | 2026-07-06 | ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Disney Enterprises, Inc. by Alexander Whang |
| 9 | 2026-07-06 | ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Disney Enterprises, Inc. by Victor Benjamin Chahin, Jr |
| — | 2026-07-06 | CASE ASSIGNED to the Honorable John F. Kness. Designated as Magistrate Judge the Honorable Daniel P. McLaughlin. Case assignment: Random assignment. (Civil Category 2). |
| — | 2026-07-06 | 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. |
| 10 | 2026-07-07 | MAILED trademark report to Patent Trademark Office, Alexandria VA |
| 11 | 2026-07-07 | MAILED copyright report to Registrar, Washington DC |
| 12 | 2026-07-07 | MAILED to plaintiff(s) counsel Lanham Mediation Program materials |
| — | 2026-07-07 | NEW PARTIES: Rongchuang Trading added to case caption. Terminating The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A |
| 13 | 2026-07-07 | Notice of Withdrawal of Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to File Under Seal by Disney Enterprises, Inc. |
| 14 | 2026-07-07 | AMENDED complaint by Disney Enterprises, Inc. against Rongchuang Trading |
| 15 | 2026-07-10 | MINUTE entry before the Honorable John F. Kness: An in-person hearing is set for 7/15/2026 at 11:00 a.m. in Courtroom 2125. In advance of the hearing, counsel should review this Court's opinion in Eicher Motors Limited v. The Individuals, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A Hereto, 794 F. Supp. 3d 543 (N.D. Ill. 2025). The 7/15 hearing will be stricken if Plaintiff elects to dismiss this action voluntarily. Mailed notice. |
| 16 | 2026-07-10 | MINUTE entry before the Honorable John F. Kness: In view of Docket Entry [13], Plaintiff's motion to seal [3] is dismissed. Mailed notice. |
| 17 | 2026-07-14 | MOTION by Plaintiff Disney Enterprises, Inc. for Expedited Discovery |
| 18 | 2026-07-15 | MINUTE entry before the Honorable John F. Kness: In-person status hearing held on 7/15/2026. As discussed on the record, Plaintiff's motion for expedited discovery [17] is taken under advisement. Mailed notice. |
| 19 | 2026-07-23 | MINUTE entry before the Honorable John F. Kness: Plaintiffs' motion [15] for expedited discovery is granted in part. Enter separate discovery order. An in-person hearing is set for 8/4/2026 at 9:45 A.M. Lead counsel must appear in person at that hearing. Mailed notice. |
| 20 | 2026-07-23 | ORDER AUTHORIZING LIMITED EXPEDITED DISCOVERY signed by the Honorable John F. Kness on 7/23/2026. Mailed notice. |
| 21 | 2026-08-04 | MINUTE entry before the Honorable John F. Kness: In-person status hearing held on 8/4/2026. Counsel for Plaintiff updated the Court on the status of service on Defendant. A continued in-person status hearing is set for 9/2/2026 at 9:45 A.M. Mailed notice. |
| 22 | 2026-08-20 | MOTION by Plaintiff Disney Enterprises, Inc. for Electronic Service of Process Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(f)(3) |
| 23 | 2026-08-20 | MEMORANDUM by Disney Enterprises, Inc. in support of motion for miscellaneous relief[22] |
| 24 | 2026-08-21 | MINUTE entry before the Honorable John F. Kness: At the Court's instance, the in-person status hearing set for 9/2/2026 is stricken and reset for 8/25/2026 at 9:45 A.M. Mailed notice. |
| 25 | 2026-08-25 | MINUTE entry before the Honorable John F. Kness: In-person status hearing held on 8/25/2026. The Court issued an oral ruling denying Plaintiff's motion for electronic service [22] for the reasons stated on the record in open court and in this order. A continued in-person status hearing is set for 9/16/2026 at 9:45 A.M. Under Rule 4(h)(2), A corporation, partnership, or other unincorporated association must be served, if at a place not within any judicial district of the United States, in any manner prescribed by Rule 4(f) for serving an individual, except personal delivery. Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(h)(2). Rule 4(f)(3) allows the Court to authorize service of process by a means not prohibited by international agreement. The Hague Service Convention, T.I.A.S. No. 6638, is an international agreement that prohibits service by email in China. Kangol LLC v. Hangzhou Chuanyue Silk Imp. & Exp. Co., 177 F.4th 793, 801 (7th Cir. 2026). Article 1 of the Hague Service Convention states that the Convention "shall not apply where the address of the person to be served with the document is not known." Plaintiff must "make 'reasonably diligent efforts to ascertain and verify [the] defendant's mailing address' before deeming the defendant's address unknown." Kangol, 177 F.4th at 799 (alteration in original) (quoting NBA Props., Inc. v. P'ships & Unincorporated Ass'ns Identified in Schedule "A," 549 F. Supp. 3d 790, 796 (N.D. Ill. 2021), aff'd sub nom. NBA Props., Inc. v. HANWJH, 46 F.4th 614 (7th Cir. 2022)). Plaintiff has not met the reasonable-diligence standard. Plaintiff's sole attempt to verify Defendant's address was to search the complete address on Google, Google Maps, and Baidu Maps. (See Dkt. 23-5 3.) Plaintiff apparently gave up when those searches revealed no results linked to Defendant. Plaintiff's counsel's declaration that the address Defendant provided to SHEIN is unreliable (Dkt. 23-4 2) is not a substitute for actual diligence. See NBA Props., 549 F. Supp. 3d at 796. In summary, Plaintiff has not shown that the address is not a valid address for service. Cf. Advanced Access Content Sys. Licensing Adm'r, LLC v. Shen, No. 14-CV-1112, 2018 WL 4757939, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 2018) (reasonable diligence shown by plaintiff who investigated the available physical addresses of online merchant to see if they were valid for service and determined they were not). Because Plaintiff has not shown that Defendant's physical address is unknown, electronic service on Defendant is not permitted. Mailed notice. |