Effective February 10, 2025, the Northern District of Illinois implemented a new procedure for submitting and issuing summonses.  Summonses must be submitted via CM/ECF. The Northern District will no longer accept or issue summonses via email.

Benefits of the new procedure:

  • Increased Efficiency: Using CM/ECF ensures a more streamlined process, reduces delays and improves issuance speed.
  • Enhanced Accessibility: Summons status can be monitored directly within the CM/ECF system.
  • Uniform Processing: The centralized system allows for consistent handling of summons submissions, minimizing errors or miscommunications.

For detailed instructions on how to file the summons through CM/ECF, please click here. 

Unicolors, Inc. v. Shewin Flagship Shops, No. 24 C 2987, (N.D. Ill. Oct. 24, 2024) (Gottschall, J.).

Judge Gottschall, in this Schedule A case, held that the Court lacked personal over defendant Shewin, a Chinese entity allegedly doing business on Amazon. The Court held that the Seventh Circuit requires more than proof of Shewin’s use of an interactive website to create personal jurisdiction. The website must be used to conduct business with Illinois consumers. The Court noted that almost all Seventh Circuit cases finding personal jurisdiction had in common proof of a purchase by an Illinois consumer and a product shipped to Illinois. This case was unique amongst Schedule A cases in that there was no evidence of a test sale to Shewin. Having held that the Court lacked jurisdiction, the Court could not grant plaintiff Unicolors even limited jurisdictional discovery. The Court also dissolved its preliminary injunction in light of the standing decision.

Finally, the Court denied Shewin standing to move to quash a third party subpoena. Shewin claimed that a response to the subpoena could put Shewin’s trade secrets at risk. That could confer Shewin a third party right to challenge the subpoena. But Shewin’s conclusory trade secret allegations were insufficient to create standing to challenge the subpoena. Furthermore, Shewin’s more specific allegations made in reply were waived because they were not made in Shewin’s opening papers.

On December 11, 2024 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. the Northern District and the American Red Cross are hosting a blood drive in the Dirksen Building 10th Floor Training Room.  This is a great opportunity to make a difference this holiday season.  Your donation will provide life-saving blood to those in need. 

For an appointment call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit RedCrossBlood.org and use the sponsor code: USDistrictCourt

You can save up to 15 minutes when you donate blood by using RapidPass! Visit RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass for more information.

Donors are required to bring a photo ID or your blood donor card, or two other forms of ID.

The Uptown People’s Law Center (“UPLC”) in conjunction with the Northern District of Illinois, and the Chicago Bar Foundation are coordinating The Hibbler Help Desk –a free, virtual resource designed to assist Northern District pro se litigants.

The upsides of volunteering for the Hibbler Help Desk include:

  • Minimal time commitment (45 minute sessions once per month);
  • Virtual appointments; and
  • No specific subject matter expertise is required.

Volunteer attorneys should have some federal court practice experience and independent malpractice insurance.

If you are interested in volunteering with the Hibbler Help Desk or would like to learn more, please reach out to Bryan Higgins at Hibbler@uplcchicago.org.  You can also click here for more information.

Collectanea J. Limited v. The P’ships & Uninc. Assocs. Identified on Schedule A, No. 24 C 3821, (N.D. Ill. Oct. 29, 2024) (Ellis, J.).

Judge Ellis, in this Schedule A Doe case, dismissed defendants who had not sold product into Illinois and dissolved the previously granted preliminary injunction against the remaining Doe defendants.

As an initial matter, the Court held that it lacked personal jurisdiction over the Doe defendants that had not been shown to have sold product into Illinois. It is not enough to have a website that offers to sell products into Illinois, in order to have personal jurisdiction over a party there must be proof of something more, for example sale of product into the state.

As to the remaining defendants, the Court reconsidered its preliminary injunction because the defendants had not appeared when it was granted and, therefore, had not been able to oppose it. Doe defendants failed to meaningfully challenge the validity of plaintiff Collectanea’s pictures of the steps to bead bracelets or necklaces. As a result, the Court treated the copyright registrations as prima facie evidence of copyright validity. Collectanea had shown a likelihood of success on the merits.

But the Court held that Collectanea could not show irreparable harm because Collectanea delayed between one year and nineteen months in bringing suit after the date of the proof of sales it filed with its papers, and could not justify the delay. The Court, therefore, dissolved the preliminary injunction. The Court also noted that there was no requirement that the Doe defendants had detrimentally relied upon Collectanea’s delay in order for the delay to void any irreparable harm that may have existed from a loss of goodwill.

The My Fav Electronics, Inc. v. Currie, et al., No. 24 C 1959, (N.D. Ill. Oct. 18, 2024) (Pallmeyer, J.).

Judge Pallmeyer granted-in-part plaintiff My Fav Electronics’ (“SLM”) motion for preliminary injunction preventing the individual defendant, a former SLM employee, from contacting certain SLM customers and requiring that the individual defendant allow forensic review of certain electronic devices in this Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”) case.

Of particular interest, the Court held:

  • The Court found strong evidence that the individual defendant used at least two of the spreadsheets she allegedly took from SLM after starting work for new employer Diamond Assets, indicating actual use of claimed secrets. The spreadsheets were developed with considerable effort and were not easily reproducible by competitors, thus meriting trade secret protection.
  • The Court also addressed the alleged breach of the NDA. The Court held that conduct qualifying as trade secret misappropriation would also likely qualify as improper disclosure and use under NDA’s terms.

The court granted the preliminary injunction in part, based on the likelihood of success on the merits, the inadequacy of legal remedies, and the irreparable harm SLM would likely suffer without injunctive relief.

The Northern District of Illinois is accepting applications for a full-time United States Magistrate Judge position in the Eastern Division in Chicago.

A qualified applicant must:

  • be, and have been for at least five years, a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands of the United States, and have been engaged in the active practice of law for a period of at least five years;
  • be competent to perform all of the duties of the office; be of good moral character, emotionally stable and mature; be committed to equal justice under the law; be in good health; be patient and courteous; and be capable of deliberation and decisiveness;
  • be less than seventy years of age; and
  • not be related to a judge of the district court.

For more details and mandatory attachments to be submitted by applicants click here.

Completed applications and required waiver forms must be submitted through the Northern District’s website by 5:00 p.m. on September 5, 2024.

On July 11, 2024 the ABA and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois will host their summer teachers professional development program. 

This one-day Teachers Institute focusing on elections and the courts will take place at the Everett M. Dirksen Courthouse, 219 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL.  Meals and materials are included and participants will be reimbursed for parking, train, or bus fare.

Teachers who participate will be invited to bring their students to the courthouse during the school year for a tour and meetings with court officials. Also, three bus scholarships (of up to $500/school) will be offered to Institute participants.

To register, click here. 

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois is accepting applications for a full-time United States Magistrate Judge position in the Eastern Division, with the Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse at Chicago, Illinois as the duty station.

To qualified, an applicant must:

  • be, and have been for at least five years, a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands of the United States, and have been engaged in the active practice of law for a period of at least five years;
  • be competent to perform all of the duties of the office; be of good moral character, emotionally stable and mature; be committed to equal justice under the law; be in good health; be patient and courteous; and be capable of deliberation and decisiveness;
  • be less than seventy years of age; and
  • not be related to a judge of the district court.

For more details and mandatory attachments to be submitted by applicants click here.

Completed applications and waiver forms must be submitted through the U.S. District Court’s website by 5:00 p.m. on February 2, 2024.

On January 31, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois will host the Grand Opening Ceremony of the Magistrate Judge History Project.

The Opening Ceremony will take place at the Everett McKinley Dirksen Courthouse, Courtroom 1743, 219 South Dearborn Street, Chicago.  A reception will immediately follow.

If you plan to attend, please reply by January 15, 2024 to: https://forms.office.com/g/UmQaJcRXjz

Click here for a copy of the Magistrate Judge History Project Invitation.