TRUE YOGA PTE LTD & 2 Ors v PATRICK JOHN WEE EWE SENG
Key facts
| Court | High Court (General Division) |
|---|---|
| Decided | |
| Judge | Choo Han Teck |
| Charges / claim | Damages |
| Counsel | Audent Chambers LLC, Oon & Bazul LLP, Selvam LLC, Angela Phoon, Daniel Soo, Dupinderjeet Kaur, Jordan Tan, Keith Han, Lim Jun Heng, Victor Leong |
Source: [2024] SGHC 228, High Court (General Division), decided — eLitigation. Updated .
Catchwords
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Judges (1)
Counsel (10)
Case Significance
True Yoga Pte Ltd and others v Wee Ewe Seng Patrick John [2024] SGHC 228 was decided by Choo Han Teck J in the General Division of the High Court of the Republic of Singapore, heard on 17 and 23 May and 5 August 2024 with judgment reserved and delivered on 5 September 2024. The matter was Suit No 376 of 2019. The plaintiffs were Singapore companies operating gymnasiums and fitness centres — True Yoga Pte Ltd, True Fitness (STC) Pte Ltd and True Fitness Pte Ltd, collectively the "True Group (Singapore)" and part of the wider "True Group", which also had companies in China and Taiwan and formerly in Malaysia and Thailand. The defendant, Patrick John Wee Ewe Seng, was the former Group Chief Executive Officer of True Group from 19 March 2008 until 9 May 2018 and a director of the plaintiffs until 30 July 2021.
The judgment concerned the catchword Damages — Assessment, namely the quantification of the plaintiffs' losses, the defendant having earlier been found liable for breach of his contractual duties and director's duties (see [2022] SGHC 155 and Wee Ewe Seng Patrick John v True Yoga Pte Ltd and others [2023] 2 SLR 323). True Group (Thailand) ceased operations on 9 June 2017 and True Group (Malaysia) on 10 June 2017. Expert evidence was given by Mr Tam Chee Chong, a Fellow Chartered Accountant of England & Wales and of Singapore, for the plaintiffs, and Mr Tham Chee Soon for the defendant. The plaintiffs were represented by counsel including Jordan Tan, Keith Han, Lim Jun Heng and Victor Leong of Audent Chambers LLC and Oon & Bazul LLP, with Angela Phoon among them, and the defendant by Daniel Soo and Dupinderjeet Kaur of Selvam LLC.
Summary
The plaintiffs, Singapore companies operating gymnasiums and fitness centres within the True Group, sought the quantification of losses against their former Group Chief Executive Officer and director, Patrick John Wee Ewe Seng, who had earlier been found liable for breaches of his contractual and director's duties. The dispute centred on the assessment of damages described as financial loss arising from damage to the brand equity of the 'True' brand, with the parties' respective experts producing widely differing loss figures. The High Court (Choo Han Teck J) set out its decision on the parameters for quantifying the losses, including the benchmarks, time period and adjustments to be adopted, and directed the parties to instruct their experts to reach agreement on the value of the losses based on those parameters, with liberty to apply and costs to be heard.
What was True Yoga Pte Ltd v Wee Ewe Seng Patrick John [2024] SGHC 228 about?
Decided by Choo Han Teck J on 5 September 2024 in Suit No 376 of 2019, it concerned the assessment and quantification of the plaintiffs' losses after the defendant, True Group's former Group CEO, was earlier found liable for breaching his contractual and director's duties.
Who was the defendant in True Yoga Pte Ltd v Wee Ewe Seng Patrick John ([2024] SGHC 228)?
The defendant was Patrick John Wee Ewe Seng, former Group Chief Executive Officer of the True Group from 19 March 2008 until 9 May 2018 and a director of the plaintiff companies until 30 July 2021, who had been found liable for breach of contractual and director's duties.
Cases Cited (6)
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Other Singapore judgments involving the same parties or counsel.
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Judgment
Read the full judgment on the official Singapore Courts portal.
Read on eLitigationSource: eLitigation ([2024] SGHC 228)