Lime Sues Hertz for Unfair Competition

Scooter-sharing service Lime has sued Hertz Corp. alleging unfair competition, according to a report by Reuters. Lime has accused Hertz of improperly hiring the startup’s senior engineers.

Neutron Holdings Inc., which does business as Lime, filed the lawsuit in California seeking unspecified monetary damages and an injunction “to recover and protect its trade secrets.”

The lawsuit named Charlie Fang, Lime’s former head of engineering, and another engineer as defendants. Lime claimed that Fang, who joined Hertz last year, violated his employment agreement to not solicit former colleagues after leaving the scooter-sharing company.

Hertz said it “vehemently disagrees with the claims made in the lawsuit,” according to the report. Fang didn’t respond to a message seeking comment.

The loss of engineers has affected Lime, which provides short-term e-bike and scooter rentals in about 30 countries. In the lawsuit, the company said that it’s now experiencing “staff shortages, recruiting costs, and critical project delays.”

A representative from Lime didn’t respond to a message seeking comment, according to the report.

In the lawsuit, Hertz has disputed that the non-solicitation agreements at issue in the case are enforceable.