Abu Dhabi Property Owner Ordered To Pay Over Dh332,990 To Contractor After Dispute

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

The Court of Cassation in Abu Dhabi has ordered a property owner to pay over Dh332,990 to a contractor after a dispute emerged between the two parties, court documents revealed.

The court issued its final ruling in the case on Thursday, August 7, rejecting an appeal filed by the property owner against a previous judgment that ordered him to pay this amount of money to the contractor.

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The appeal was dismissed on procedural grounds related to the legal threshold required for appeals before the Court of Cassation, which is no less than Dh500,000, making the payment enforceable by final judgment.

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Case background

After a disagreement between the property owner and the contractor concerning construction work at the property, the former filed a civil commercial lawsuit, which ended with ordering the contractor to pay him Dh250,000.

The court said then that the ruling was based on the contractor's failure to implement the agreed-upon contracting work.

The contractor later filed a separate lawsuit against the property owner, requesting that the latter be ordered to pay Dh332,990 as reimbursement for some construction work that had already been completed. The contractor also sought payment of a delay interest at an annual rate of 12% from the date the case was filed until full payment is made.

The court ruled in favour of the contractor, but the owner appealed.

Final ruling

The Court of Cassation rejected the owner's appeal, though, on the ground that the claim amount (Dh332,990) falls below the minimum threshold of Dh500,000 required for cassation appeals, as stated in Article 175(1) of Federal Law No. 42 of 2022 on Civil Procedure.

A technical expert report also confirmed that a significant portion of the contracted work-estimated at 89% completion-had already been carried out.

As a result, the court ruled that the appellant (the property owner) is obliged to pay the contractor:

Dh332,990 – the principal amount awarded for completed contracting works.

5% annual interest – from the date of the lawsuit until full payment.

Dh1,000 – for the contractor's legal (attorney's) fees due to the cassation appeal being dismissed.

Court fees and expenses – though not quantified in the judgment, they are also the responsibility of the losing party (the property owner).

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