Lexmark Subpoenas Cartridge World and Cardinal

Lexmark asked the courts to order Cartridge World North America and Cardinal Cartridge to comply with its subpoenas and turn over evidence for their John Doe case.

Recently, Lexmark asked for more time to file against additional John Doe defendants—that is, remanufacturers who allegedly used cores first sold outside the United States—yet refused to settle with Lexmark.

According to Actionable Intelligence, Lexmark also urged Cartridge World to comply with a subpoena that requires the company to provide documents to identify all of its franchisees. But Cartridge World identified only one store in Dublin, Ireland. It seems that Lexmark seeks to subpoena all individual franchisees regarding their acquisition and sale of Lexmark cartridges. It is not clear if Lexmark hopes to add Cartridge World North America itself to the complaint, but it is possible this is the case.

Cardinal Cartridge LLC, on the other hand, objects to the Lexmark complaint. In January 2013, Greentec International identified Cardinal Cartridge, Inc., as one of its customers for used Lexmark cartridges. Lexmark claims that Cardinal Cartridge, Inc. is “affiliated with—if not one and the same as several companies, including Cardinal Cartridge LLC, Noops International, Imaging Resources, and Printer Essentials.com”. So Lexmark subpoenaed each of these entities to clarify their relationship as well as their acquisition and sale of Lexmark cartridges.

Cardinal Cartridge LLC says it cannot be a John Doe defendant in Lexmark’s Ohio suit because it “did not yet exist when Lexmark filed its case.”  It claims that Lexmark is abusing the subpoena process.