Abu Dhabi court orders man to return Dhs400,000 to gym partner

Abu Dhabi Family, Civil and Administrative Cases Court ordered a person to return Dhs400,000 to another plus a 4 per cent interest from the date the lawsuit was filed until full payment.

A settlement had been signed between the two parties under which the defendant was obligated to pay the amount in monthly installments but he had failed to comply.

The two men were partners in a gym and the amount was equivalent to the price of the gym equipment that the defendant had received.

The plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the defendant in which he requested the court to obligate him to repay the outstanding amount of Dhs400,000 plus Dhs10,000 in compensation for all material and moral harms.

He also requested the court to obligate the defendant to pay a 12 per cent legal interest from the date of the lawsuit until full payment plus the incurred legal fees, expenses and lawyer’s fees.

The plaintiff pleaded that he had loaned the defendant the claimed amount on the condition that he would repay it to him in equal installments according to an agreement drawn up between them, adding that the defendant failed to fulfill his obligations and refused to repay the debt.

The plaintiff’s attorney submitted a docket that included translated copies of the defendant’s ID and passport, a settlement agreement, a notice of obligation to pay, email correspondence and a decision by the Alternative Dispute Resolution Department.

The court explained that it is legally established that article 1/1 of the law of evidence in civil and commercial transactions stipulates that the plaintiff has the right to prove his claim and the defendant has the right to disprove it.

Article 14 of the law of evidence stipulates that an admission is a statement by a party acknowledging a duty owed to another party, while article 15 outlines the conditions for a valid admission, requiring the person making it to have the capacity to dispose of the admitted right, the court said.

Article 18 specifies that judicial admissions are conclusive and binding on the person making them, and they cannot be retracted, the court added.

It is proven in the submitted documents and in the settlement signed between the two parties that the defendant borrowed Dhs400,000 from the plaintiff and pledged to repay it in 12 equal monthly installments of Dhs33,333.33 each, the court said. In the event of non-payment of any installment, the plaintiff has the right to resort to the court, it added.

The defendant appeared before the court accompanied by an interpreter and acknowledged the settlement he had concluded with the plaintiff and decided that he was unable to pay the installments due to the gym being shut down, the court said.

Since the defendant did not provide anything to prove payment of the amount and contented himself with saying that the settlement came in exchange for his receipt of gym equipment, the court obligated him to repay Dhs400,000.