Abu Dhabi court fines two women Dhs1.750 million for selling rented gold

The Abu Dhabi Family, Civil and Administrative Cases Court upheld a ruling issued by the court of first instance that ordered two women to return Dhs1.5 million, plus Dhs250,000 in compensation, to another woman in a gold rental case.

The women had signed a promissory note and cheque, but then sold the gold.

In details, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit against two women, requesting that they be ordered to pay her jointly Dhs1.5 million (the value of the stolen gold), plus Dhs800,000 in legal interest at a rate of 12 per cent from the date the lawsuit was filed until full payment is made.

The plaintiff is also seeking their obligation for legal fees and lawyer expenses.

The plaintiff filed her lawsuit on the basis that the defendants had rented gold, valued at Dhs1.5 million, from her for Dhs157,000.

They had signed a promissory note and a guarantee cheque for the value of the gold, but sold it and did not return it. Consequently, a criminal lawsuit was filed and a judgement was issued.

The defendants' actions caused material harm to the plaintiff through the loss of the gold and lost profits, as well as moral harm, which prompted her to file the aforementioned lawsuit.

The court of first instance ruled that the two women should pay the plaintiff Dhs1.5 million in damages, in addition to paying Dhs250,000 in compensation. However, the two women did not accept this ruling, filing an appeal on the grounds of corrupt reasoning and insufficient evidence.

The plaintiff based her claim on the fact that the two women had signed a receipt for gold jewellery and items worth Dhs1.5 million.

However, the reality is that the appellants purchased these jewellery items from the plaintiff in instalments, and the actual value of the gold jewellery was Dhs700,000. Although a cheque was signed as a guarantee of payment, it was presented to the bank before its due date, which provided the pretext for filing a complaint against the appellants.

The plaintiff did this because she found that the price of gold was rising and wanted to back out of the sale.