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SINGAPORE – A court fight between the children of the man who founded Eng’s No-nonsense Noodles and a business partner failed on Tuesday (December 22), with each side losing their respective claims against the other.
But with a trademark dispute still in court, the battle over the mee wonton business, which is known for its stretch noodles and “gunpowder” chili paste, is far from over.
The legal disputes arose from a joint venture between Mr. Desmond Ng, the son of the late Ng Ba Eng, who ran a successful street vendor at Dunman Food Center, and Ms. Pauline New.
In 2012, the position moved to a store at 287 Tanjong Katong Road called Eng’s Noodles House, after New’s husband agreed to invest $ 150,000 to expand the business.
A company with the same name was registered, with the younger Mr. Ng and Ms. New as directors and shareholders.
Elder Ng died in 2013. In 2018, after a dispute between the partners, the company did not renew the lease of the facilities and ceased operations on February 28, 2018.
On the same day, a new company called Eng’s Wantan Noodle was created and took over the facility. The new lease was reportedly signed by Thomas Hong, CEO of the Lao Huo Tang soup chain.
On March 5, 2018, Desmond Ng’s sisters Mui Hong, 52, and Mei Ling, 48, established a company called Char Siew Wantan Mee of Eng. They set up shop at 248 Tanjong Katong Road, just outside of the 287.
Last year, Ms. New sued the three Ng brothers, as well as Mr. Bill Teng, who managed the accounts of the defunct Eng’s Noodles House and was assigned a 5 percent stake in the company.
Ms. New accused the defendants of conspiring to damage Eng’s Noodles House by establishing a competing business.
Among other things, it pointed to the fact that Mui Hong had registered a trademark on October 3, 2017, comprising the word “Eng’s”, the brand’s Chinese characters and a chili logo. Ms. New claimed that this was to prepare for the “usurpation.”
Ms. New also alleged that Mr. Ng and Mr. Teng had breached their fiduciary obligations to Eng’s Noodles House. He accused Mr. Teng of embezzlement of company funds, but withdrew his claim during the trial.
The Ng sisters countersued Ms. New for impersonating, alleging that she and her husband, businessman Jason Sim, had “stolen the family business.”
The sisters claimed that Ms. New and Mr. Sim had helped create Eng’s Wantan Noodle. Since then, Eng’s Wantan Noodle has expanded to multiple franchise outlets across the island.
A Straits Times check of business records showed the company is owned by a 27-year-old named Eng Ye Yeng.
In a judgment written Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Valerie Thean dismissed New’s claims that the defendants had conspired to harm the company.
Judge Thean found that Mui Hong, who was aware of the deteriorating relationship between her brother and Ms. New, was taking preventive measures to protect the trademark when he registered the trademark in 2017.
The judge ruled that the sisters who settled in 248 was not a premeditated plan, but a “hasty” move to assert their original brand in reaction to Eng’s Wantan Noodle taking over in 287.
The judge also found that Ms. New and Mr. Sim were “instrumental” in creating Eng’s Wantan Noodle. His duties included introducing Mr. Hong to the real estate agent in 2018 to secure the lease.
Judge Thean rejected the sisters’ counterclaim that Ms. New was misleading consumers into believing that Eng’s Wantan Noodle was actually the same as their “family” business.
The judge said there was no question that over the years at Dunman Food Center, Mr. Ng elder was the owner of the goodwill, or reputation, attached to the business.
However, the judge said the sisters failed to establish that the public attributed the goodwill to other members of the Ng family, in addition to the late Mr. Ng or Mr. Desmond Ng, who has been helping their father since 2009.
The judge added that the forgery claim should have been brought against Eng’s Wantan Noodle, not New.
Teng, through his attorneys Suresh Damodara and Clement Ong, said he was relieved to be vindicated in court.
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