Amazon.com, Inc., et al. v. Armycamo USA, Inc., et al.

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE

AMAZON.COM, INC., et al., CASE NO. C24-0394JLR Plaintiffs, ORDER v. ARMYCAMO USA, INC., et al., Defendants.

On January 8, 2025, the court (1) temporarily stayed this action in light of an ongoing criminal investigation of the Appearing Defendants1 by Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), (2) entered Plaintiffs’ and the Appearing Defendants’ stipulated preliminary injunction, and (3) ordered the parties to file a joint status report within 180 days. (See generally 1/8/25 Order (Dkt. # 29).) On July 8, 2025, the court extended the

1 The Appearing Defendants are Armycamo USA, Inc., L&Q Army, Inc., L&Q Tactical USA, Inc., Paladins Products, Inc., Panthera Products, Inc., X&X Outdoor Product, LLC, Qingyun Qiu, and Penggui Huang. (See 1/8/25 Order (Dkt. # 29) at 3.) stay by an additional 90 days and ordered the parties to file a further status report by no later than October 4, 2025. (7/8/25 Order (Dkt. # 39).) The parties filed a joint status

report on October 3, 2025, in which they reported that HSI’s investigation remained active and asked the court to continue the temporary stay until January 2, 2026. (10/3/25 JSR (Dkt. # 40).) The court granted that request. (10/3/25 Order (Dkt. # 41).) On January 2, 2026, the parties filed a joint status report in which they represented that HSI’s investigation remained ongoing and that no indictment or charges had yet been brought. (1/2/26 JSR (Dkt. # 42) at 2-3.) Plaintiffs asked the court to lift the stay of their

civil claims. (Id. at 3.) The Appearing Defendants, however, asked the court to continue the stay for an additional 30-60 days in light of the ongoing investigation and to allow the parties to continue settlement discussions. (Id. at 3-4.) The court granted the Appearing Defendants’ request, continued the stay for an additional 60 days, and ordered the parties to file a status report by no later than March 3, 2026. (1/5/26 Order (Dkt. # 43).)

On March 3, 2026, the parties filed a joint status report in which they again represent that the criminal investigation and settlement discussions remain ongoing. (3/3/26 JSR (Dkt. # 44) at 3.) Plaintiffs again ask the court to lift the stay of their civil claims and the Appearing Defendants again ask the court to continue the stay for an additional 30-60 days in light of the ongoing investigation and settlement discussions.

(Id. at 3-4.) The court GRANTS the Appearing Defendants’ request to extend the stay for an additional 30 days. The parties are ORDERED to file, by no later than April 2, 2026, a joint status report regarding the status of the investigation and the parties’ positions on whether the court should lift the temporary stay. If the parties disagree about whether the stay should remain in place, they shall each address in the joint report the factors for

determining whether to stay a civil case during a parallel criminal investigation: (1) the extent to which the defendant’s Fifth Amendment rights are implicated; (2) the plaintiff’s interest in proceeding expeditiously with the litigation, and the potential prejudice to plaintiffs of a delay; (3) the burden which any particular aspect of the proceedings may impose on the defendants; (4) the court’s convenience in managing its cases, and the efficient use of judicial resources; (5) the interests of non-parties to the civil litigation; and (6) the public’s interest in the pending civil and criminal proceedings. CommScope, Inc. of N. Carolina v. Electro Prods., Inc., No. C6-0577RSM, 2007 WL 9775629, at *2 (W.D. Wash. Feb. 12, 2007) (citing Keating v. Off. of Thrift Supervision, 45 F.3d 322, 324-25 (9th Cir. 1995)). Dated this 5th day of March, 2026. A United States District Judge