The complaint

Caroline Cho and Korean Street Food, Inc. dba Dan Sung Sa Restaurant v. LMSC, Inc. dba Dan Sung Sa Restaurant, Sun Mee Lee, and Does 1 through 10, No. 3:26-cv-13495 (N.D. Cal.), is a 9-page complaint filed November 10, 2026, ECF No. 1, with a jury demand. Cho is a California citizen whose principal place of business is in Los Angeles, and the complaint describes her as the principal and CEO of Korean Street Food, Inc., the operating entity of the Dan Sung Sa restaurant in Los Angeles. It describes LMSC, Inc. as a California corporation based in Oakland, California, that the plaintiffs are informed and believe was incorporated on August 6, 2009, and alleges that Sun Mee Lee is the CEO or other controlling officer, shareholder, or director of LMSC. It pleads jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338(b) and 15 U.S.C. § 1051 et seq., and venue under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(2). The case is assigned to Judge Rita F. Lin. (Compl. caption; paras. 2 to 7; docket entry 4.)

The mark

The complaint alleges that Cho owns Reg. No. 5,002,097 for DAN SUNG SA, registered July 19, 2016, with first use in commerce on January 1, 1998, that the registration is incontestable, and that DAN SUNG SA is a famous mark that has been featured in newspapers, travel magazines, and television food shows, including shows hosted or produced by well-known food critics and celebrity culinary figures. USPTO status records show Reg. No. 5,002,097 for DAN SUNG SA in standard characters, for "Bar and restaurant services" in Class 43, registered July 19, 2016 and renewed, and list Caroline Cho as the original registrant and Korean Street Food, Inc. as the current owner. The record gives the English translation of DAN SUNG SA as "SWEET SPLENDID ENTERPRISE." (Compl. paras. 1, 3, 9, 18.)

What the complaint alleges

The complaint alleges that the plaintiffs opened Dan Sung Sa in Los Angeles and began using the name on or about January 1, 1998, about eleven years before the defendants opened a restaurant under the identical name, which the plaintiffs are informed and believe happened on or about the date of LMSC's incorporation. It alleges, on information and belief, that the defendants misappropriated the domain name dan-sung-sa.com and use it for their restaurant, and it alleges that they replicated the look and feel of the Los Angeles restaurant, including substantially similar menu items. It alleges that the use of the name and domain amounts to use of a counterfeit mark. (Compl. paras. 4, 8, 10, 13, 24.)

The claims

  • First claim: trademark infringement under 15 U.S.C. §§ 1114(1)(a) and 1116.
  • Second claim: trademark dilution under 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c).
  • Third claim: common law trademark infringement, Lanham Act section 43(a), 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a).
  • Fourth claim: deceptive business practices under California Business and Professions Code section 17200.

Relief requested

On the first claim the plaintiffs ask for treble damages; injunctive, declaratory, and other relief; attorney fees; a statutory penalty of $2,000,000, citing 15 U.S.C. § 1117(e); and costs. On the second claim they ask for treble damages, injunctive and declaratory relief, attorney fees, and costs. On the third and fourth claims they ask for general damages with pre-judgment interest, costs, attorney fees, and declaratory or injunctive relief against further use of the name DAN SUNG SA, and on the fourth claim also punitive and exemplary damages. (Prayer.)