Realty firm ordered to refund Dhs1.9m to a woman in Dubai

The Dubai Court of First Instance ordered a real estate development company to refund Dhs1,935,000 (Dhs1.935 million) to an Arab woman after it was proved that the company failed to fulfill its obligations under an agreement following the cancellation of a real estate project, on the basis of which the woman had contracted to purchase a plot of land to build a villa on it.

The court obligated the company to return Dhs1,785,000, representing the amount owed to the plaintiff under the settlement, in addition to Dhs150,000 as compensation for the damages she incurred due to the delayed payment. The case details date back to the time when an Arab woman filed a lawsuit with the Dubai Real Estate Court, demanding the refund of Dhs2.6 million she had paid to a real estate development company, along with a 12% legal interest.

The case documents revealed that the plaintiff had taken a bank loan and paid its interest to purchase a plot of land and build a villa through the appellee company.

It was revealed also that she paid the company Dhs2.1 million, but shortly before the delivery date, the company informed her of the project’s cancellation without providing clear reasons.

The company allegedly proposed an amicable settlement, which the plaintiff accepted, and an agreement was signed stating that the plaintiff was entitled to Dhs1,879,000 to be transferred to her bank account, but the company failed to comply, paying only Dhs94,000 despite receiving legal notices.

The plaintiff’s legal representative, Dr Alaa Nasr, stated that the court deemed the original contract canceled due to the settlement, and the plaintiff’s request for a full refund of all payments was legally unacceptable in light of the settlement agreement. Dr Nasr added that the court considered the Dhs150,000 compensation to be proportionate to the actual damages the plaintiff incurred due to the company’s failure to fulfill its contractual obligations.