Case Highlight | Ten Days to an Unconditional Dismissal in a Northern District of Illinois Schedule A Patent Action

During this year's Lunar New Year holiday, an Amazon cross-border seller came to us with its account already frozen. A U.S. federal court had issued a temporary restraining order on an ex parte application. For cross-border sellers, the holiday is normally a rare stretch of downtime; this seller spent it facing a freeze order already in effect and a federal court hearing on the horizon. We took the matter during the holiday and began work immediately.

After a TRO, Time Is Loss

For an Amazon seller, every day of an account freeze means interrupted sales, accumulating inventory, and falling rankings. The design logic of Schedule A litigation is precisely to place a defendant under pressure before it has had any opportunity to prepare. The plaintiff makes its showing ex parte; the court issues the TRO without hearing from the defendant; and the defendant is then confronted with an order already in force and a preliminary injunction hearing close behind.

Many sellers settle at this stage, for a simple reason: too little time, too much pressure.

The Work Begins with Claim Analysis

Upon taking the case, we immediately undertook a complete claim analysis of the asserted patent. Patent infringement is assessed under the all-elements rule: the accused product must satisfy every limitation of the claim; if any limitation is absent, there is no infringement.

We compared each structural limitation of the independent claims against the actual construction of the accused product. The object was not a general assessment but a specific conclusion on each limitation — documented, supported by images, and capable of withstanding examination at a hearing.

In parallel, we systematically reviewed all of the plaintiff's infringement evidence and assessed the factual completeness of its evidentiary chain.

Counsel's Duty of Candor in U.S. Litigation

There is a point of background here worth understanding for cross-border sellers. In U.S. federal litigation, counsel bears a duty of candor with respect to every pleading and motion counsel signs. Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that, by signing, counsel certifies that the factual contentions have evidentiary support, and that the legal contentions are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extending it.

That obligation runs throughout the case. As a matter proceeds and a defendant raises substantively grounded defenses, the plaintiff's duty to assess its own contentions does not fall away. Pressing forward with a claim that is materially deficient in both law and fact carries corresponding professional risk in U.S. practice.

This is one of the significant differences between U.S. litigation culture and certain other legal systems. It operates as a check on enforcement actions lacking substantive basis, and it is a dimension cross-border sellers should not overlook in understanding U.S. procedure.

Outcome

After completing the draft Motion to Dissolve the TRO and Opposition to a Preliminary Injunction, we notified plaintiff's counsel in writing and demanded dismissal. Within hours of receiving our motion papers, plaintiff's counsel filed a notice of voluntary dismissal. The TRO was dissolved and the account returned to normal. Our client expressly reserved its rights to pursue losses caused by the wrongful delisting under the TRO.

From engagement to dismissal: ten days — with seven days still remaining before the preliminary injunction hearing.

The pressure built into Schedule A litigation depends substantially on the defendant's information asymmetry and time disadvantage. Once a defendant can mount a legally substantive response within a short window, the balance between attack and defense can shift quickly.

This case summary is provided for informational purposes only. Outcomes depend on the specific facts, evidence, applicable law, and the court's discretion in each matter. Past results do not guarantee or predict similar outcomes in future matters.