NASCAR obtains a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Temu seller aliases in a Schedule A case in the Southern District of New York

What is on the docket

The case is National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC v. The Individuals, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A, No. 1:26-cv-07876, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The docket shows the complaint filed September 10, 2026, with an exhibit of trademark registrations, and lists the cause as trademark infringement under 15 U.S.C. § 1114. Counsel of record for NASCAR are Shengmao Mu and Keaton David Smith; the docket lists Smith with Whitewood Law PLLC. The complaint is not on the public docket. The docket lists sealed filings of a complaint containing the defendants' information and Schedule A and of two exhibits of infringing evidence, and a complaint entry dated September 23, 2026 (ECF No. 21) is not freely available either. The two orders described below are public.

On September 10, 2026, NASCAR filed a statement of relatedness asking that this action be filed as related to No. 26-cv-2955, and on September 11 the docket shows the case referred to Judge Analisa Torres as possibly related to No. 1:26-cv-02955. That earlier case is another NASCAR suit in the same court against defendants identified on a Schedule A. Its docket shows it was filed April 10, 2026, and assigned to Judge Torres, and it lists preliminary injunction orders entered May 14, 2026. In this case, the docket lists notices of case assignment or reassignment on September 15 and 16, 2026, and both orders described here were signed by Judge Jed S. Rakoff.

The marks

Both orders define the NASCAR Marks as U.S. Reg. Nos. 1,908,112; 5,388,088; 5,392,803; and 5,578,788. USPTO records list all four as live registrations owned by National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC, a Florida limited liability company. No. 1,908,112, registered August 1, 1995, and since renewed, is NASCAR in standard characters for goods in many classes, including caps, T-shirts, sweatshirts, and other clothing in Class 25, decals and bumper stickers in Class 16, and die cast miniature cars in Class 28. No. 5,388,088 (January 23, 2018) and No. 5,392,803 (January 30, 2018) are the stylized NASCAR word with a blue bar, two red bars, and two yellow bars to its left, with color claimed, the first for clothing in Class 25 and the second for paper goods such as posters, stickers, decals, and printed art reproductions in Class 16. No. 5,578,788 (October 9, 2018) is the bars alone, in blue, red, and yellow, for clothing in Class 25. USPTO records show combined Sections 8 and 15 declarations accepted for the three 2018 registrations.

The temporary restraining order

Judge Rakoff signed the order to show cause for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order on September 17, 2026, on NASCAR's ex parte application. In findings made on NASCAR's papers at the temporary restraining order stage, the court stated that NASCAR "is likely to prevail on its trademark infringement claims at trial," that the defendants had used the NASCAR Marks without authorization in selling infringing products into the United States, including New York, through accounts on online marketplace platforms including Amazon, Walmart, Temu, PayPal, and Shop Pay, and that NASCAR had well-founded fears that, given notice of the application, the defendants would move or hide the products, the proceeds, or the accounts. It also found that NASCAR had tried with reasonable diligence to find a current physical address for each defendant without verifying any, so that the Hague Service Convention does not apply under its Article 1 and email service under Rule 4(f)(3) is not prohibited by international agreement. The order notes that service through the Convention on defendants based in China takes at least 10 to 16 months.

The order barred the defendants, pending the hearing, from making, advertising, or selling the infringing products, using the NASCAR Marks on any seller alias or as metatags, and altering, closing, or transferring any seller alias. Under Rules 64 and 65, N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 6201, and the court's equitable authority, it directed WhaleCo Inc. (Temu), PayPal, Payoneer, Amazon.com, and Walmart to locate and restrain the defendants' accounts and assets, including cryptocurrency, within five days of service. It ordered those institutions, registrars, and other third parties to give NASCAR's counsel the defendants' contact information, account numbers and balances, and any accounts not listed on Schedule A, and it allowed NASCAR to serve interrogatories, document requests, and requests for admission, with sworn interrogatory answers and requested documents due within five days of service. Service of the order, summons, and complaint could be made by emailing PDF copies and a download link to addresses the institutions supply, under a single summons for all Schedule A defendants. NASCAR was to deposit $1,500 as security. The order sealed Schedule A, the unredacted complaint, the infringing-evidence exhibit, and an address-lookup exhibit to a supporting declaration until the accounts and assets were restrained, and directed NASCAR to file unsealed versions after that. It set a hearing on October 1, 2026, with any opposition due September 28.

The preliminary injunction

Judge Rakoff granted the preliminary injunction on October 1, 2026, after the hearing. On personal jurisdiction, for purposes of the motion, the court relied on Rule 4(k)(2): the action arises under the Lanham Act, NASCAR certified through its counsel's sworn declaration that to its knowledge the defendants are not subject to jurisdiction in any state court of general jurisdiction, and NASCAR has sufficiently alleged that the defendants targeted U.S. consumers, including in New York, through marketplace platforms and payment processors such as PayPal and Shopify, including Shop Pay, by offering shipping to the United States and listing products in U.S. dollars. The order says those allegations are uncontested and that the defendants keep the right to challenge personal jurisdiction. At this preliminary stage, the court again found that NASCAR "is likely to prevail on its trademark infringement claims at trial," reasoning that NASCAR had shown ownership of valid, registered marks and that the defendants' use of counterfeits of those marks in commerce creates a presumption of likelihood of confusion under 15 U.S.C. § 1114(1)(a). It also found that NASCAR is likely to suffer irreparable harm, that the balance of hardships favors NASCAR, and that the public interest favors an injunction to prevent the sale of counterfeit goods, and it found email service reasonably calculated to give notice and consistent with the Hague Service Convention because the defendants' addresses are unknown or unverifiable.

The injunction keeps the TRO's relief in place for the life of the case. It bars the defendants and those acting in concert with them from the same conduct, and now also from creating any new seller alias, account, or website on any marketplace or other online platform, including standalone e-commerce sites and social media. The asset restraint continues for Temu, PayPal, Payoneer, and Shop Pay and any other financial institution, payment processor, or online marketplace holding the defendants' accounts, with written confirmation due to NASCAR within seven days of service. Expedited discovery continues and now reaches any domain-name registrar or web host for a domain on Schedule A, along with transaction records, sales histories, and revenue data, and defendants served with the order must answer interrogatories and produce documents within seven days. Service by email under Rule 4(f)(3) continues. The $1,500 bond, which the court found sufficient given the strength of NASCAR's case and the nature of the defendants' conduct, stays with the court. Any defendant may move to dissolve or modify the order on two days' notice, and NASCAR then has seven days to respond.

The preliminary injunction order attaches a Schedule A listing 145 seller aliases, each identified with Temu as the platform and a numeric store identifier. The TRO's findings had named Amazon, Walmart, Temu, PayPal, and Shop Pay, and its list of financial institutions named Temu, PayPal, Payoneer, Amazon.com, and Walmart; the preliminary injunction's list is Temu, PayPal, Payoneer, and Shop Pay. The docket lists a bond and a summons issued on September 24, 2026, a certificate of service on September 29, and a summons returned executed on September 30. The October 1 order and a show cause hearing entry the same day are the latest entries it lists.