Sebastian v. One Brands, LLC

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

BRITTANY SEBASTIAN, Case No.: 3:20-cv-9-L-MDD Plaintiff, v.

ORDER ON MOTION FOR LEAVE ONE BRANDS LLC, TO AMEND (ECF 58)

Defendant.

Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion for leave to file an amended complaint. (ECF 58). There is no opposition. (See Docket). The Court decides the matter on the papers submitted without oral argument. Civ. L. R. 7.1. For the reasons stated below, the Court GRANTS the motion.

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a), courts “should freely give leave when justice so requires.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a). “This policy is to be applied with extreme liberality.” Eminence Capital, LLC v. Aspeon, Inc., 316 F.3d 1048, 1051 (9th Cir. 2003).

In general, when ruling on a motion to amend, courts consider: undue delay, the movant’s bad faith, prejudice to the opposing party, whether the movant previously amended their complaint, and futility of amendment. Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182 (1962); Johnson v. Buckley, 356 F.3d 1067, 1077 (9th Cir. 2004). The most important factor is prejudice. Eminence Capital, 316 F.3d at 1052. Absent that, or a strong showing of the other factors, there is a “presumption ... in favor of granting leave to amend.” /d. (emphasis original).

Plaintiff requests leave to (1) remove the claims related to sugar, (2) add allegations about nutritional facts and changes that were made after the lawsuit was filed, (3) remove the claim for injunctive relief, (4) add a claim for catalyst fees, and (5) reassert claims against The Hershey Company. (ECF 58).

Plaintiffs request is timely. There is nothing to suggest Plaintiff is acting in bad faith. There is also nothing to suggest Defendant will suffer undue prejudice if the complaint 1s amended. The case is in its early stages. Moreover, this 1s the first request for leave. And the proposed amendments are not futile. Therefore, the Court GRANTS /the motion. Plaintiff has until August 9, 2021 to file the proposed First Amended Complaint (ECF 58-3, Exhibit B).

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: August 4, 2021 fee oop

H . James Lorenz, United States District Judge