If your Amazon, Walmart, Temu, eBay, TikTok Shop, or other marketplace account was frozen because of a "Schedule A" lawsuit, I defend sellers in these cases in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. My goal is to get your funds released and the case resolved quickly. I’m Jonathan Francis, a Schedule A defense attorney and intellectual property litigator in Chicago, and I work with sellers in the United States and overseas, and with the attorneys and agents who refer them.
Schedule A cases move on a short clock. The freeze is already in place when you find out, and the deadlines run from the date you were served, often by email.
This page is general information, not legal advice about your situation.
Free case review. Send the case number, your store name, and the notice from the marketplace or plaintiff's counsel. I'll tell you what you're facing and quote a flat fee.
Contacting me does not create an attorney-client relationship. Until we've confirmed there's no conflict and agreed in writing to work together, please send only the letter or notice you received, and don't include other confidential details.
What is a Schedule A lawsuit?
A Schedule A lawsuit is a federal case in which a brand owner sues dozens or hundreds of online stores at once, listing them only in an exhibit called "Schedule A," and asks the court to freeze their marketplace accounts before they get notice.
The claims are usually trademark counterfeiting or infringement under the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. § 1114 and § 1125(a)), copyright infringement, or design patent infringement. The plaintiff files the defendant list under seal, gets an ex parte temporary restraining order, has the marketplaces restrain the listed accounts, and then serves defendants by email under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(f)(3).
Most of these cases have been filed in Chicago, in the Northern District of Illinois, even when neither the plaintiff nor the sellers have any connection to Illinois.
What to do in the first few days
Find the case number, write down your deadline, preserve your sales records, and get counsel before you contact the plaintiff's lawyers.
- Identify the case. The marketplace notice or the plaintiff's email will give a case number such as 1:26-cv-0XXXX (N.D. Ill.) and the plaintiff's name.
- Find your deadline. After you're served, you generally have 21 days to answer or otherwise respond (Rule 12(a)). The TRO may also set an earlier date to object or request a hearing.
- Pull your sales data for the accused product. Units sold into the United States, revenue, and dates. This number drives almost every negotiation and most motions to reduce the freeze.
- Don't delete the listing history or move money around the freeze. Courts treat this seriously, and it undercuts the strongest arguments you have.
- Don't negotiate directly with the plaintiff's counsel. First offers in these cases are often high, and what you say can be used against you.
How Schedule A defense works
Defending a Schedule A case usually means limiting or lifting the asset freeze, testing whether the plaintiff can actually prove its claim against your store, and then resolving the case on terms tied to your real sales.
Reduce or release the freeze
Plaintiffs routinely freeze an entire account balance. Where the claim is for money damages, the law limits prejudgment asset restraints, and a freeze can often be narrowed to an amount connected to sales of the accused product.
Challenge the case against you
Is the product actually infringing? Was joinder of hundreds of sellers proper? Was email service authorized correctly? Each defendant is entitled to a claim tied to its own conduct.
Resolve on real numbers
Settlement is common. The point of counsel is to get a figure based on your actual U.S. sales and a clean release, not the plaintiff's opening demand.
The Northern District of Illinois is changing how it handles Schedule A cases
Since 2025, judges in the Northern District of Illinois have put new limits on Schedule A cases, including closer review of joinder, email service, asset freezes, and sealing.
In Eicher Motors Ltd. v. The Individuals, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A Hereto, No. 1:25-cv-02937 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 8, 2025), Judge John F. Kness denied an ex parte TRO. He held that boilerplate allegations repeated across a list of defendants lack the particularity Rule 65(b) requires, and that a court may not freeze assets to secure potential money damages when no equitable interest is claimed. That limit traces to the Supreme Court's decision in Grupo Mexicano de Desarrollo, S.A. v. Alliance Bond Fund, Inc., 527 U.S. 308 (1999). Judge Kness had earlier stayed the Schedule A cases on his docket while he reassessed the practice.
Other judges have adopted standing orders for Schedule A cases. The standing order template used in Judge Gottschall's courtroom requires plaintiffs to justify joinder under Rule 20(a)(2), to show reasonable diligence in finding a mailing address before email service is allowed, and to tell defendants in every TRO how to request a hearing. Practices still vary from judge to judge, so the assigned judge's standing orders are one of the first things I check.
What's at stake: statutory damages and your account
In a trademark counterfeiting case, the Lanham Act allows statutory damages of $1,000 to $200,000 per counterfeit mark per type of goods, and up to $2,000,000 if the counterfeiting is found willful.
Those ranges come from 15 U.S.C. § 1117(c). Plaintiffs cite them to justify large freezes and settlement demands. In practice, the more immediate harm is the frozen balance and the lost sales while your account is restricted, which is why speed matters more here than in almost any other kind of case.
If you don't respond, the plaintiff can seek a default judgment, which can include statutory damages and a transfer of the frozen funds.
For referring attorneys and agents
I take Schedule A referrals from attorneys, marketplace service providers, and agents in the United States and abroad, and I keep the referring professional informed throughout.
Many sellers first contact a lawyer or agent in their own country who doesn't appear in U.S. federal court. I'm admitted in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and handle the Chicago litigation. That includes appearances, motions to modify asset restraints, and negotiations with plaintiff's counsel. Referral and co-counsel arrangements are made in writing and follow the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct.
Related: Trademark registration and enforcement · Copyright defense · Federal civil litigation
The freeze is already in place, and the deadline runs from service. Send the case details now.
Contacting me does not create an attorney-client relationship. Until we've confirmed there's no conflict and agreed in writing to work together, please send only the letter or notice you received, and don't include other confidential details.
Frequently asked questions
Why was my Amazon (or Walmart, Temu, eBay) account frozen?
A brand owner most likely named your store in a Schedule A lawsuit and obtained a temporary restraining order that the marketplace is required to follow. The marketplace notice or an email from the plaintiff's lawyers will identify the case number and the court.
What happens if I ignore a Schedule A lawsuit?
The plaintiff can ask the court for a default judgment against your store. That can include statutory damages and an order transferring your frozen funds to the plaintiff, and the account restriction usually continues until the case is resolved.
How long do I have to respond?
Generally 21 days after you are served to answer or otherwise respond in federal court, and service in these cases is often by email. The TRO may set an earlier date to object or request a hearing, so check the order and your service date right away.
Can the whole account balance be frozen?
Plaintiffs often freeze the entire balance, but the law limits prejudgment asset restraints when the claim is for money damages. Courts in the Northern District of Illinois have narrowed freezes to amounts connected to the accused product, and some judges now scrutinize asset freezes closely.
I'm outside the United States. Can I still defend the case?
Yes. Many Schedule A defendants are based overseas, and the case can be handled entirely through counsel in Chicago by email and video. You don't need to travel to the United States to respond.
Should I just pay what the plaintiff's lawyer is asking?
Not before you know your actual exposure. Opening demands are often far above what the claim against your store is worth, and a settlement should be based on your real U.S. sales of the accused product and include a full release.
I'm a lawyer or agent with a client in a Schedule A case. How do referrals work?
Contact me with the case number and your client's store name for a conflict check and case review. Referral and co-counsel terms are set out in writing, and I keep you informed as the case moves forward.
Attorney Advertising. General information, not legal advice. Contacting this office does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Responsible attorney: Jonathan M. Francis, 3525 West Peterson Avenue, Suite 604, Chicago, Illinois 60659.