Seok Hwi Cha v. YP's Kani, Inc.

317 F. Supp. 3d 1215
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedJuly 20, 2018
DocketCIVIL ACTION FILE No. 1:16-cv-0485-SCJ
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 317 F. Supp. 3d 1215 (Seok Hwi Cha v. YP's Kani, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Seok Hwi Cha v. YP's Kani, Inc., 317 F. Supp. 3d 1215 (N.D. Ga. 2018).

Opinion

HONORABLE STEVE C. JONES, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

*1216This matter is before the Court as a result of the motion for summary judgment filed by Defendant YP's Kani, Inc. ("Kani"). Doc. No. [59]. Kani has also filed a motion to seal an affidavit submitted by pro se Plaintiff Seok Hwi Cha ("Cha"). Doc. No. [66]. The Court addresses the motion to seal first.

I. MOTION TO SEAL

In conjunction with Plaintiff Cha's response to Kani's motion for summary judgment, he filed a document that contains his own affidavit, his responses to Kani's interrogatories, spreadsheets with his calculation of overtime owed to him, and a settlement letter from Kani. See Doc. No. [65]. At issue here is the settlement letter. Kani moved to seal the document because the settlement letter is marked "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL" and is inadmissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 408. Doc. No. [66]. Rule 408 prohibits using any evidence of settlement offers to establish the amount of a disputed claim. Fed. R. Evid. 408(a). As Cha submits the settlement letter in an attempt to prove the value of his case, it is inadmissible as evidence. Therefore, the Court finds good cause to maintain Cha's document under seal.

II. SUMMARY JUDGMENT

A. Legal Standard

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(a) provides "[t]he court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). A factual dispute is genuine if the evidence would allow a reasonable jury to find for the nonmoving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A fact is "material" if it is "a legal element of the claim under the applicable substantive law which might affect the outcome of the case." Allen v. Tyson Foods, Inc., 121 F.3d 642, 646 (11th Cir. 1997).

The moving party must show, by reference to materials in the record, there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact that should be decided at trial. Hickson Corp. v. N. Crossarm Co., 357 F.3d 1256, 1260 (11th Cir. 2004) (citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) ). If the non-moving party bears the burden of proof on an issue, then the moving party can discharge its initial burden by either: (1) showing an absence of evidence in the record to support an essential element of the non-moving party's case, or (2) introducing evidence to show that the non-moving party cannot prove its case. Fitzpatrick v. City of Atlanta, 2 F.3d 1112, 1115-16 (11th Cir. 1993). However, if the moving party bears the burden of proof on an issue, it must affirmatively produce evidence showing no reasonable jury could find for the non-moving party. Id. at 1115. When determining if the moving party has met its burden, the court must consider the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. See Robinson v. Arrugueta, 415 F.3d 1252, 1257 (11th Cir. 2005).

If the moving party adequately supports its motion, the non-moving party has the burden of showing summary judgment is improper by coming forward with specific facts to show a genuine dispute.

*1217Matsushita Elec. Indus Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). All reasonable doubts are resolved in the favor of the nonmoving party. Fitzpatrick, 2 F.3d at 1115.

B. Factual Findings

In light of the foregoing standard, the Court finds the following facts for the purpose of resolving Defendant's motion for summary judgment.1 Kani is a family-owned and operated Japanese restaurant that offers, among other things, unique sushi stylings from its sushi chefs. Doc. No. [59-2], p. 2, ¶ 3. Kani hires trained sushi chefs to prepare sushi creations customized to customers' personal tastes. Doc. No. [59-2], p. 2, ¶ 4. Kani hired Plaintiff as a sushi chef at its Mall of Georgia location on February 22, 2015. Doc. No. [59-2], p. 3, ¶ 5.

Prior to his employment with Kani, Plaintiff worked as a sushi chef at other sushi establishments. Doc. No. [59-3], pp. 5-6. Plaintiff underwent professional training in Japanese cuisine before working for Kani. Doc. No. [59-3], p. 6. While living in Korea, Plaintiff attended Japanese cuisine training classes. Doc. No. [59-3], pp. 6-7.

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317 F. Supp. 3d 1215, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/seok-hwi-cha-v-yps-kani-inc-gand-2018.