Singapore Court Dismisses Shopee Lawsuit Against Former Executive Now at ByteDance

• A Singapore court dismissed Shopee’s lawsuit against former exec Lim Teck Yong.
• Justice Kwek found “serious doubts” about contract restrictions.
• The ruling enables Lim’s employment continuation after failing to show strong injunction grounds.

Legal victory for Lim Teck Yong

A Singapore court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by e-commerce firm Shopee against a former senior executive, Lim Teck Yong, who recently joined TikTok’s parent company ByteDance.

Shopee had sued Lim for allegedly violating non-compete and non-solicitation agreements by moving to ByteDance shortly after leaving Shopee in mid-2023.

Unsuccessful claims

Shopee sought injunctions barring Lim from working at ByteDance and soliciting Shopee employees and clients.

However, Justice Kwek Mean Luck ruled that Shopee failed to demonstrate a strong case for breach of contract or springboard injunctions.

The judge found “serious doubts” about the reasonableness of the non-compete geographic restraints and lack of evidence that Lim would violate solicitation restrictions or misuse Shopee’s confidential data.

Employment continuation

“I find that Shopee has not shown that it has any prospects of success which, in substance and reality, exist,” Justice Kwek stated in the dismissal ruling.

The decision allows former Shopee executive Lim Teck Yong to continue his employment at ByteDance’s TikTok Shop unit without further legal challenge.