Dicam, Inc. v. United States Cellular Corp., No. 07 C 5472, Slip. Op. (N.D. Ill. Sep. 28, 2007) (Shadur, J.).*

Judge Shadur sua sponte ordered plaintiff Dicam to dismiss all parties but defendant United States Cellular (“U.S. Cellular”) and one of its five co-defendants. Dicam’s Complaint alleged patent infringement of telephones sold by U.S. Cellular and manufactured by the other five defendants. The Court could find “no legitimate reason” for brining what it believed were five separate suits as one. The Court explained that if Dicam had filed the suits separately, the Court would not have consolidated them pursuant to Local Rule 40.4, although they might have qualified for coordinated discovery. The Court, therefore, ordered Dicam to dismiss four of the five suppliers, without prejudice to refile separate cases against those suppliers. Dicam has since dismissed all but one of the four suppliers and refiled separate cases against each of the four suppliers with U.S. Cellular named as a co-defendant in each case.

* Click here for a copy of the opinion.