Defendant
1 case as defendant.
LKQ Corporation (Nasdaq: LKQ) is a US-based distributor of vehicle parts and accessories, incorporated in Delaware in 1998 and headquartered in Antioch, Tennessee (historically associated with Chicago, Illinois). It is publicly traded; as of 2026 sources report roughly $13.7 billion in annual revenue and approximately 44,000 employees. It operates worldwide, with its largest footprint in North America and Europe, and has grown substantially through acquisition (over 220 acquisitions, including Keystone, Euro Car Parts, Sator, Rhiag and, more recently, Uni-Select).
Operations. LKQ distributes replacement parts, components and systems for vehicle repair and maintenance, plus specialty aftermarket products and accessories. It reports four segments: Wholesale–North America (aftermarket, OEM recycled, OEM remanufactured, OEM refurbished and new OEM collision and mechanical parts, plus paint and body repair products); Europe (alternative vehicle replacement and maintenance parts across Germany, the UK, Benelux, Italy, and other markets); Specialty (specialty vehicle aftermarket equipment and accessories for truck/off-road, performance, RV, towing, wheels and tires); and Self Service (self-service salvage retail facilities). The company has also been simplifying its portfolio, selling the Self-Service segment and initiating a sale process for Specialty in late 2025.
Litigation posture. In the tracked data, LKQ appears in exactly one case and only as a defendant: Fleet Connect Solutions LLC v. LKQ Corporation, filed November 2023 in the Eastern District of Texas (Marshall Division, 2:23-cv-00555, before Judge Rodney Gilstrap and Magistrate Judge Roy S. Payne). Zero plaintiff-side suits. This is the classic pattern of an operating company being targeted rather than a party asserting patents. Fleet Connect Solutions is widely characterized as a patent assertion entity; Unified Patents' litigation record links it to NPE financing (Empire IP LLC) and notes a third-party financing relationship.
Case context. In that suit Fleet Connect asserted a portfolio of vehicle-telematics, wireless fleet-management and asset-tracking patents (including US 6,429,810; 6,549,583; 7,206,837; 7,742,388; 7,747,291; 8,494,581), accusing LKQ's use of third-party fleet-management products such as Donlen DriverPoint/FleetWeb and Geotab devices for its roughly 7,000-vehicle fleet. The case was resolved by a joint stipulation and dismissed with prejudice in November 2024; no liability or validity finding was recorded. Fleet Connect has filed similar suits against other fleet operators and telematics providers in Texas and California.
Fleet Connect Solutions LLC sued LKQ Corporation in the Eastern District of Texas in 2023 involving US 7,206,837. The case was dismissed with prejudice by joint stipulation, with each party bearing its own costs.