Husband demands wife to pay him Dhs3.9 million; court rejects plea

Aya El Deeb, Staff Reporter

The Abu Dhabi Appellate Court upheld the verdict of the Court of First Instance rejecting a lawsuit filed by a husband against his wife, in which he demanded that she and a real estate company be obligated to pay him Dhs3,966,000 (Dhs3.9 million), the value of a villa he had bought as a marital home, which he registered it in her name as a UAE citizen, and later she refused to transfer the ownership of the villa to his name.

The complainant demanded that his wife and the real estate company be obligated to transfer ownership of the villa to his name, and in reserve obligating them to pay him Dhs3.9m. He also demanded that the real estate company be obligated to pay him Dhs1 million in material and moral compensation for the damages he incurred.

He explained that he had been the appellee's husband for more than 12 years and they had 3 children, adding that in 2016 he bought a villa, and the purchase contract was done by the real estate company for a total amount of Dhs4,047,000, in the name of his wife being a UAE citizen and because it was not allowed to register it with the name of a non-citizen.

“When Law No.13 of 2019 was issued allowing non-citizens to own real estates within the investment zones in Abu Dhabi, he asked his wife to transfer the ownership of the villa to his name, but she refused,” the complainant added.

The real estate company’s lawyer affirmed to the court that the firm was not a party to the dispute, as it completed the project and handed it over to the owner, and that the villa was registered in the wife’s name. He indicated that the company’s relationship with the issue ended with the handing over of the villa to the wife.

The complainant demanded that the wife take a decisive oath and she swore that her husband had not paid the price of the villa, or any part of it, and that there was no agreement between them to transfer the ownership in his name or 50% of its value, and then the court rejected the husband's claim.

The husband appealed the ruling, and the Appellate Court indicated that the wife’s oath settled the dispute and that she was the only owner of the villa, without a partner, and then the court rejected the appeal, upheld the ruling of the Court of First Instance and obligated the husband to pay the fees and expenses of the case.