Judge: Jon R. Takasugi, Case: 24STCV00197, Date: 2024-10-07 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 24STCV00197    Hearing Date: October 7, 2024    Dept: 17

Superior Court of California

County of Los Angeles

DEPARTMENT 17

TENTATIVE RULING

Plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend to file a FAC is GRANTED.

            On 1/3/2024, Joon Koh (Plaintiff) filed suit against Shinhan Diamond America, Inc. and Shinhan Diamond Industrial Co., LTD, alleging: (1) age discrimination; (2) race discrimination; (3) failure to prevent; (4) retaliation; (5) wrongful termination; and (6) violation of Business and Professions Code section 17200.

            On 7/29/2024, Plaintiff moved for leave to amend to file a first amended complaint (FAC).

            The motion is unopposed.

Discussion 

Plaintiff seeks leave to amend to file a FAC.

The proposed amendment would add causes of action for retaliation in violation of Labor Code sections 1102.5 and 1197.5 which were not included in the original Complaint. It would also add an injunction to the relief sought under the section 17200 claim, and the caption and body of the SAC would be renumbered to reflect the change of firm name and the addition of the two new causes of action.

The policy favoring leave to amend is so strong that it is an abuse of discretion to deny an amendment unless the adverse party can show meaningful prejudice. (Atkinson v. Elk Corp. (2003) 109 Cal.App.4th 739, 761.)

Here, trial is not until 11/17/2025. Plaintiff’s motion is adequately supported by a proposed amended pleading and a substantive explanation as to why the new allegations are necessary, and why they were not alleged sooner. Accordingly, the Court finds no meaningful prejudice would result from granting leave to amend.

Based on the foregoing, Plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend to file a FAC is granted.

It is so ordered.

Dated:  October    , 2024

   Hon. Jon R. Takasugi
   Judge of the Superior Court

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the court at smcdept17@lacourt.org by 4 p.m. the day prior as directed by the instructions provided on the court website at www.lacourt.org.  If a party submits on the tentative, the party’s email must include the case number and must identify the party submitting on the tentative.  If all parties to a motion submit, the court will adopt this tentative as the final order.  If the department does not receive an email indicating the parties are submitting on the tentative and there are no appearances at the hearing, the motion may be placed off calendar.  For more information, please contact the court clerk at (213) 633-0517.