The Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation has rejected an appeal by a woman against a previous court ruling requiring her to pay Dh812,500 in unpaid villa loan instalments, plus Dh20,000 in compensation and 5 per cent annual interest from the date of the lawsuit until full payment.

In 2023, the respondent (creditor) filed a lawsuit claiming that the appellant (debtor) had stopped making instalment payments on a residential villa he had purchased using bank financing. The loan payments were to be made monthly at Dh32,500 per month. The respondent requested Dh920,000 in unpaid instalments and Dh500,000 in additional compensation.

The court of first instance initially ruled that the appellant owed Dh715,000 and Dh10,000 in compensation. Both parties appealed. The Court of Appeal increased the instalment amount to Dh812,500, raised the compensation to Dh20,000, and set the annual interest rate at 5%. The appellant then appealed to the Court of Cassation.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

In her appeal, the appellant argued that the judges in the lower courts were not allowed to hear the case because they had previously ruled on a similar dispute between the same parties.

According to her, the court wrongly calculated the instalments and compensation, claiming she had already paid most of the debt and that late interest was unjustified. She said that the court ignored her request to appoint another expert to review her defence.

The Court of Cassation rejected all these claims, ruling that the previous judges were allowed to hear the case because the earlier dispute had already been finalised, and the principle of res judicata (final judgment) applies.

The court said that the expert report and other evidence clearly showed that the appellant had missed 22 instalments and owed the respondent for three additional months.

Compensation for the delay in payments is justified because the respondent was deprived of using the money and suffered financial and personal hardship.

The court is not required to appoint another expert if the existing report and evidence are sufficient.

The final decision confirms that the debtor must pay the respondent Dh812,500 in instalments, Dh20,000 in compensation, and 5% annual interest from the date of filing the lawsuit until full payment is made.

MENAFN06102025000049011007ID1110157661