What was the date that the court granted Bonchon's motion to discontinue its lawsuit against the Defendants?
Bonchon Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
On April 24, 2023, Bonchon International, Inc., Bonchon U.S.A., Inc., and us (collectively, "Bonchon") filed suit againstSapporo Inc.,BC Alexandria Inc.,Bon Burke Inc.,Sun M.An, andYoung C. Ham a/k/a Ryan Ham (collectively, the "Defendants") in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. The Defendants entered into franchise agreements with Bonchon Franchise LLC for the right to operate four (4) Bonchon Restaurants in Herndon, Virginia; Alexandria, Virginia; Burke, Virginia; and Vienna, Virginia (collectively, the "Franchise Agreements"). On September 15, 2022, Bonchon terminated the Franchise Agreements because of Defendant Ryan Ham's material breach thereof. As a consequence of such termination, Defendants lost all rights to use Bonchon's trademarks, trade dress, confidential information, know-how, and the Bonchon System. However, despite losing the right to operate under Bonchon's proprietary marks, Defendants continued to operate their Restaurants under the "Bonchon" name in violation of their post-termination obligations under the Franchise Agreements. Consequently, Bonchon commenced this action for (i) trademark infringement; (ii) trade dress infringement and unfair competition; (iii) misappropriation of trade secrets under the DTSA; and (iv) breach of contract under New York common law. The Court entered a stipulated Preliminary Injunction on August 10, 2023, pursuant to which Defendants were ordered to immediately cease any use of Bonchon's trademarks, trade dress, trade secrets, and confidential information and to comply with all applicable post-termination provisions of the Franchise Agreements. Within the time provided in the Order, Defendants de-identified their former Bonchon restaurants in compliance with the Order. On April 8, 2024, Young C. Ham a/k/a Ryan Ham and Sophia Sunmin Hahm a/k/a Sun Min An filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which resulted in the discharge of certain debts by Order of the bankruptcy court dated July 23, 2024 (including the debts that Mr. and Mrs. Ham guaranteed under the Franchise Agreements executed by Sapporo Inc., BC Alexandria Inc. and Bon Burke Inc.). Consequently on September 4, 2024, Bonchon filed a motion to discontinue its lawsuit against Defendants, which motion was granted on September 4, 2024.
Source: Item 3 — LITIGATION (FDD pages 11–12)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bonchon's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Bonchon International, Inc., Bonchon U.S.A., Inc., and Bonchon Franchise LLC filed a suit against Sapporo Inc., BC Alexandria Inc., Bon Burke Inc., Sun M. An, and Young C. Ham a/k/a Ryan Ham in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York on April 24, 2023. These Defendants had franchise agreements with Bonchon to operate four Bonchon restaurants in Virginia.
Bonchon terminated the Franchise Agreements on September 15, 2022, due to Defendant Ryan Ham's breach. Despite the termination, the Defendants continued to operate under the Bonchon name. On September 4, 2024, Bonchon filed a motion to discontinue its lawsuit against the Defendants after Young C. Ham a/k/a Ryan Ham and Sophia Sunmin Hahm a/k/a Sun Min An filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which resulted in the discharge of certain debts by Order of the bankruptcy court dated July 23, 2024.
The court granted Bonchon's motion to discontinue the lawsuit on September 4, 2024. This resolution suggests that Bonchon took legal action to protect its brand and enforce its franchise agreements, but ultimately discontinued the suit after the defendants declared bankruptcy, which discharged the debts owed to Bonchon.