On September 28, 2026, the Federal Register published the notice instituting Investigation No. 337-TA-1524, Certain Powered Rocker-Recliner and Glider-Recliner Mechanisms and Seating Units Containing Same, at 91 Fed. Reg. 61249. The notice says the Commission ordered institution on September 22, 2026, and it was issued September 23, 2026. The notice cites 19 CFR 210.10(b)(1) for the plain-language scope. That subsection also provides that an investigation is instituted by publication of a notice in the Federal Register. The investigation was therefore instituted on September 28, 2026, the publication date.

Complainants and respondents

The notice names the complainants as Ultra-Mek, Incorporated, of Denton, North Carolina; Leggett & Platt, Incorporated, of Carthage, Missouri; and L&P Property Management Company, of Carthage, Missouri. A complaint was filed August 21, 2026, with supplemental letters on September 9 and September 10, 2026. The complainants request a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders.

  • Jiangsu Carya Smart Home Hardware Co., Ltd., of Yangzhou, China.
  • Living Style Group Ltd., of Kowloon, Hong Kong.
  • True Innovations & Design (USA) LLC, of Irvine, California.
  • Living Style (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., of Singapore.
  • Living Style (Vietnam) Ltd., of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
  • Henglin Home Furnishings Co., Ltd., of Huzhou, Zhejiang, China.
  • Nanjing Hengning Home Furnishings Co., Ltd., of Nanjing, China.
  • Zhejiang Hengjian Home Furnishing Co., Ltd., of Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
  • Colamy, Inc., of Fontana, California.
  • Aurora Maison, Inc., of Arvada, Colorado.
  • Aerisnexus Innovations, Inc., of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The Office of Unfair Import Investigations will not participate as a party. The Chief Administrative Law Judge is to designate the presiding judge. Responses are due within 20 days after service of the complaint and the notice unless good cause is shown for more time.

The notice also says the Commission is interested in a thorough record on domestic industry, to facilitate a holistic review of all relevant considerations. It says the presiding administrative law judge may wish to consider what information is needed on the complainants' domestic industry allegations under section 337(a)(3)(A), (B), and (C), for an industry that exists or is in the process of being established, including the extent to which those allegations rely on expenditures by third parties and the extent to which any entity makes expenditures outside the United States related to the domestic industry articles.

Instituted claims

The notice institutes the investigation on claims 1-7 and 15-18 of U.S. Patent 8,398,165; claims 1-7 and 15-18 of U.S. Patent 8,398,168; claims 1-4 and 6-9 of U.S. Patent 8,016,348; and claims 1-7 and 11-14 of U.S. Patent 8,297,693. The plain-language scope, which defines the investigation, is powered glider-recliner mechanisms, powered rocker-recliner mechanisms, and finished seating units incorporating those mechanisms.

The descriptions below summarize the instituted claim text. They are not findings that any respondent practices a claim.

  • U.S. Patent 8,398,165, Powered rocker recliner linkage mechanism, issued March 19, 2013. Issued claim 1 recites a seating unit with a seat, a backrest, and at least one foot-support ottoman, adapted to move among a closed position, an extended position, and a reclined position. It recites a pair of base plates, a pair of rocker mechanisms, seat-mounting plates that carry the seat, and generally mirror-image linkage mechanisms that include a footrest assembly. The claim continues after that footrest assembly.
  • U.S. Patent 8,398,168, Powered glider recliner linkage mechanism, issued March 19, 2013. Issued claim 1 recites a seating unit with a chassis, a seat, a backrest, and at least one foot-support ottoman, with glide brackets mounted to the chassis, seat-mounting plates that carry the seat, and generally mirror-image linkage mechanisms that include a footrest assembly. The claim continues after that footrest assembly.
  • U.S. Patent 8,016,348, Reciprocating seating unit with power actuator, issued September 13, 2011. Issued claim 1 recites a seating unit with a base, a seat, a backrest, and an extendable ottoman, a reclining mechanism of pivotally interconnected links, a reciprocating mechanism, and a power actuating unit attached to the reclining mechanism and configured to move the unit among an upright position, an intermediate TV position, and a fully reclined position. The claim continues after those positions.
  • U.S. Patent 8,297,693, Reciprocating seating unit with power actuator, issued October 30, 2012. Issued claim 1 uses that same seating-unit structure and, where the '348 patent recites a power actuating unit, recites a linear actuating unit attached to the reclining mechanism and configured to move the unit among those same three positions. The claim continues after those positions.

Other proceedings

The '348 patent listing includes a certificate of correction dated December 13, 2011.

Google Patents' litigation listings for the '348 and '693 patents identify two earlier Middle District of North Carolina cases: Ultra-Mek, Inc. v. Man Wah (USA), Inc., No. 1:16-cv-00041, filed January 15, 2016, and terminated March 17, 2017, and Ultra-Mek, Inc. v. United Furniture Industries, Inc., No. 1:18-cv-00281, filed April 10, 2018.

What to watch next

Watch respondent answers after service, the administrative law judge assignment and schedule, and any district complaint on these patents that becomes available.