Context Directions LLC v. Auto Merchants, Inc.
New filing- Docket:
- 2:26-cv-00729
- Court:
- E.D. Tex.
- Filed:
- 2026-08-21
New filing with complaint and summons; asserts US 9,807,564 and US 10,142,791. Retrieved date is August 21, 2026.
Plaintiff
17 cases as plaintiff.
Company overview. Context Directions LLC is a Delaware limited liability company with its place of business in New York, NY (261 West 35th Street, Suite 1003). It is a private entity; no revenue, headcount, or market-cap figures are publicly available, and it appears to have no corporate website or operating footprint. Publicly available sources identify it as a patent-assertion entity controlled by Jeffrey M. Gross: Unified Patents has described it as a "Jeffrey M. Gross-controlled NPE," and the Stanford NPE Litigation Database lists it as a patent asserter.
Products / services / operations. Context Directions has no known products, services, or employees. It is a non-practicing entity whose sole apparent activity is enforcing a small family of patents directed to context detection in mobile devices — e.g., U.S. Patent Nos. 9,807,564 ("Method of Detecting Context of a Mobile Device"), 10,142,791 ("Method and System for Context Awareness of a Mobile Device"), and 11,057,738 ("Adaptive Context Detection in Mobile Devices"). The patents describe hierarchical sensor-group/classifier arrangements that detect a device's context (such as being in a moving vehicle) while saving power.
Patent-litigation posture. The tracked data show 18 cases, all brought by Context Directions as plaintiff and none against it — the classic NPE profile. Filings cluster in the Eastern District of Texas (mostly before Judge Rodney Gilstrap), with additional cases in the Western District of Texas (Waco) and the Central District of California.
Notable cases and context. Early targets were device makers: Samsung Electronics (W.D. Tex., 2020), Garmin (C.D. Cal.), Fossil Group (E.D. Tex.), and Suunto (E.D. Tex.). Since 2022 the portfolio has been asserted mainly against automotive and rental-car defendants, including Avis Budget Group, Ean Holdings (Enterprise), Fox Rent A Car, and numerous Texas auto dealers (Gulliver USA, Huffines Chevrolet Lewisville, Wagner Cadillac, Patterson Motors, Peters Chevrolet, Don Herring). Unified Patents filed an ex parte reexamination of the '791 patent in 2021; the USPTO entered rejections finding means-plus-function limitations lacking algorithmic support. The Gulliver USA case was dismissed with prejudice in February 2026, about 140 days after filing, suggesting a private settlement.
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New filing with complaint and summons; asserts US 9,807,564 and US 10,142,791. Retrieved date is August 21, 2026.
Filed October 3, 2025. Asserts '564 and '791 against 80+ Nissan, Toyota, and Lexus models. Dismissed with prejudice on February 20, 2026 under a joint Rule 41(a)(2) motion, each party to bear its own fees.
New filing in E.D. Tex. before Judge Rodney Gilstrap; asserts US 10,142,791 among other patents per PacerMonitor.
New filing; summons issued and AO 120 filed. Asserts US 9,807,564 and US 10,142,791.
New filing; summons issued and AO 120 filed. Asserts US 9,807,564 and US 10,142,791.
Filed June 12, 2025. Asserts '564 and '791 against seven Patterson Motors entities (Mazda/Toyota vehicles).
Filed January 24, 2025. Asserts '564, '791, and '738. Defendants include multiple Huffines entities, and counterclaims were filed.
Dealership infringement suit asserting US 9,807,564, US 10,142,791, and US 11,057,738 (Exhibits A, N, T to complaint).
Fossil answered and filed a counterclaim on July 6, 2022. No final outcome was found.
Suit brought in the Central District of California against Garmin International, Inc. and unnamed others; asserted the '791 patent. Filing date and status not confirmed.
Filed in E.D. Tex. against Avis Budget Group and related rental-car entities; IPWatchdog's July 22, 2022 filings roundup listed asserted patents 11057738, 10142791, and 9807564.
Filed in E.D. Tex. against Ean Holdings (d/b/a Enterprise Rent-A-Car), Alamo Rent-a-Car, and National Car Rental; included in IPWatchdog roundup. Outcome not confirmed.
Used-car dealership case; accused vehicles include Chrysler, Jeep, Toyota, and Mazda. Asserts US 9,807,564, US 10,142,791, and US 11,057,738.
Accused used vehicles include Kia, Toyota, and RAM. Asserts US 9,807,564 and US 10,142,791.
Additional litigation entry on Google Patents for US10142791; not independently verified.
Confirmed by the Stanford NPE Litigation Database and Unified Patents. Filed in 2022; no final outcome confirmed in the search results.
Filed around September 2025. Asserts '564 and '791 (Hyundai/Toyota/RAM claim charts).