Last updated: 1 October 2026 · 11 cases hand-screened
Court records naming two of the ten prop firms we track, pulled from public dockets and screened one by one. We list only what a docket or court ruling says. Every claim below is an allegation, not a finding, unless a court has actually ruled on it, and in that case we name the ruling.
- 11 cases, 2 firms. We matched 11 court cases to tracked firms: 7 involve Topstep entities and 4 name Apex Trader Funding. For the other 8 firms we track, our searches turned up no federal docket on CourtListener as of 1 Oct 2026.
- Topstep is usually the plaintiff. Topstep entities brought 5 of their 7 cases: two trademark suits, one copyright suit, one contract suit against a payment processor and one state contract suit against a former affiliate. Topstep entities are defendants in 2.
- Apex is the defendant in all 4. Apex Trader Funding is the named defendant in all four of its cases. Three were filed in 2026, and one (Lawton, W.D. Tex.) cites the Commodity Exchange Act.
- Only 1 of 11 is closed. Ten of the 11 cases show no termination date. The only closed one, Topsteptrader v. OneUp Trader (2017–2018), ended in a stipulated dismissal with prejudice. That was not a merits ruling.
- The biggest enforcement case was dismissed. The CFTC sued My Forex Funds’ parent company Traders Global Group in 2023. In May 2025 the court dismissed the case with prejudice as a sanction against the CFTC, a reminder that a regulator’s complaint is also just allegations.
The tracker
Sorted by firm, newest filing first. Status comes from the docket record: “Open” only means no termination date is recorded. Download the full dataset (CSV).
| Case | Court | Docket no. | Filed | Nature of suit | Status | Firm role | Neutral summary (allegations, not findings) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TopstepTrader LLC v. Nuvei Technologies Inc. Topstep | U.S. District Court, D. Ariz. | 2:26-cv-06567 | 2026-09-14 | 190 Contract: Other | Open (no termination date on docket) | Plaintiff | TopstepTrader LLC filed a breach-of-contract complaint against payments company Nuvei Technologies; the claims are allegations, not findings. | Docket |
| Topstep LLC v. TpStp FX Topstep | U.S. District Court, N.D. Ill. | 1:25-cv-11851 | 2025-09-29 | 840 Trademark | Open (no termination date on docket) | Plaintiff (with TopstepTechnologies LLC) | Topstep alleges trademark infringement by defendants listed as TpStp FX, Pro Edge Capital FX and Does 1–5; allegations, not findings. | Docket |
| Topstep LLC v. Patrick Wieland Topstep | Delaware Superior Court (CCLD) | N25C-06-299 KMM CCLD | 2025-06-30 | State court – contract | Open; partial motion to dismiss Count 1 denied 2025-12-03 | Plaintiff | Topstep alleges a former affiliate breached confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses of a 2024 settlement agreement. The court denied his partial motion to dismiss at the pleading stage; that ruling is not a finding of breach. | Docket |
| Topstep LLC v. ProEdge Capital Ltd. Co. Topstep | U.S. District Court, N.D. Ill. | 1:25-cv-06705 | 2025-06-17 | 840 Trademark | Open (no termination date on docket) | Plaintiff (with TopstepTechnologies LLC) | Topstep alleges trademark infringement by ProEdge Capital Ltd. Co.; allegations, not findings. | Docket |
| McCrudden v. Topstepfunded LLC Topstep | U.S. District Court, M.D. Fla. | 3:26-cv-00816 | 2026-04-09 | 440 Civil Rights: Other | Open (no termination date on docket) | Defendant (Topstep LLC, Topsteptrader LLC, Topstepfunded LLC, plus five individuals incl. Michael Patak) | Private plaintiff sued Topstep entities and five named individuals. The docket metadata does not describe the claims; whatever they are, they are allegations, not findings. | Docket |
| Footlick v. Topstep LLC Topstep | U.S. District Court, N.D. Ill. | 1:22-cv-06152 | 2022-11-07 | Contract: Other | Open (no termination date on docket) | Defendant (Topstep LLC, TopstepTrader LLC, Topstep Holdings LLC, TopstepPeople Inc., Patak Holdings Inc., Michael Patak); several also counter-/cross-claimants | Private suit in which the docket lists a sex-discrimination (Title VII) cause; Topstep parties have filed counterclaims. Allegations on both sides, not findings. | Docket |
| Topsteptrader, LLC v. OneUp Trader, LLC Topstep | U.S. District Court, N.D. Ill. | 1:17-cv-04412 | 2017-06-12 | 820 Copyright | Closed – joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice (ECF 92), recorded as following a negotiated settlement | Plaintiff | TopstepTrader alleged copyright infringement by OneUp Trader. The parties dismissed the case by stipulation; the court made no merits finding. | Docket |
| Lawton v. Apex Trader Funding Inc. Apex Trader Funding | U.S. District Court, W.D. Tex. | 1:26-cv-02078 | 2026-07-24 | 370 Other Fraud | Open (no termination date on docket) | Defendant (with Darrell Roland Martin and John Mark Skelton) | Private plaintiff sued Apex Trader Funding and two named individuals. The docket lists a fraud nature of suit and a Commodity Exchange Act cause; allegations, not findings. | Docket |
| McCrudden v. Apex Trader Funding, Inc. Apex Trader Funding | U.S. District Court, M.D. Fla. | 3:26-cv-01073 | 2026-04-30 | Not listed | Open (no termination date on docket) | Defendant | Private suit naming Apex Trader Funding as defendant. The docket metadata does not list the nature of suit or the claims, which are allegations, not findings. | Docket |
| Patel v. Apex Trader Funding, Inc. Apex Trader Funding | U.S. District Court, S.D. Cal. | 3:26-cv-02079 | 2026-04-02 | Not listed | Open (no termination date on docket) | Defendant | Private suit naming Apex Trader Funding as defendant. The docket metadata does not list the nature of suit or the claims, which are allegations, not findings. | Docket |
| Riot v. Apex Trader Funding Inc. Apex Trader Funding | U.S. District Court, W.D. Tex. | 1:24-cv-01557 | 2024-12-18 | 820 Copyright | Open (no termination date; orders entered as recently as 2026-08-07) | Defendant (per caption; the docket lists many parties) | Multi-party copyright case captioned against Apex Trader Funding. The docket lists a copyright-infringement cause; allegations, not findings. | Docket |
No federal docket found (as searched)
For each firm below, CourtListener’s RECAP index returned no federal docket naming it or its listed entity names as a case name or party as of 1 Oct 2026. That does not mean there are no cases. State courts, arbitration, foreign courts and dockets missing from RECAP are not covered.
Industry context: enforcement beyond our tracked firms
Methodology
- Searches (1 Oct 2026): CourtListener v4 RECAP search, caseName:(“X”) OR party:(“X”), for all ten tracked firms and their entity names (e.g. Topstep LLC, TopstepTrader, Apex Trader Funding Inc., FTMO s.r.o., FTMO Evaluation US/Global, GrowthNext, Fivers Funding, Funding Pips, My Funded Futures, Take Profit Trader), plus about 30 other prop-firm names for industry context. Also searched: CourtListener case-law opinions, the CFTC RED List and enforcement releases, SEC enforcement and IOSCO I-SCAN.
- Screening rules: each hit was checked by hand against the caption, the party list and the court. We kept a case only if the named entity is clearly the prop firm, and we dropped every uncertain match, including same-name companies, “Schedule A” product listings and cases where we could not confirm identity.
- Wording rules: summaries describe what a party alleges or what the docket records. We report outcomes only when a court order or docket entry records them. “Open” means no termination date is on the docket.
- Not covered: sealed filings, arbitration, most state courts, non-US courts, and PACER entries not mirrored in RECAP. We did not buy PACER documents.
Disclaimer: This page summarises public court records for information only. It is not legal advice. Every claim in a complaint, counterclaim or regulator filing is an allegation, not a finding, and every party is entitled to contest it. Inclusion on this list does not mean wrongdoing, and a firm’s absence does not mean no litigation exists. Corrections: if a record here is wrong, outdated or mismatched, email [email protected] with the docket number. We review every request and date every change.
How to cite
How to cite: PropDataLab, “Prop Firm Lawsuits & Enforcement Tracker,” screened 1 October 2026, https://propdatalab.com/prop-firm-lawsuits-tracker/. Dataset: CSV.
FAQ
Which prop firms have been sued in US federal court?
Among the ten firms we track, our 1 Oct 2026 search found federal dockets involving Topstep entities (as plaintiff and as defendant) and Apex Trader Funding (as defendant). Every claim in those cases is an allegation, not a finding.
Was My Forex Funds found liable by the CFTC?
No. The CFTC’s 2023 complaint against Traders Global Group was dismissed with prejudice on 13 May 2025 as a sanction against the CFTC. Its allegations were never proven in court.
Does a lawsuit mean a prop firm did something wrong?
No. A complaint is one party’s allegations. Only a court ruling or judgment establishes findings, and most of the cases here are still open.
How can I report an error?
Email [email protected] with the case name and docket number.