Dubai court orders client to pay law firm Dhs63,000

A client refused to pay the remaining agreed-upon fees to a law firm for legal services related to reviewing and drafting contracts for his companies, which prompted the firm to file a lawsuit against him.

The Civil Court in Dubai ordered him to pay Dhs63,000 as legal fees, with a legal interest rate of 5% annually from the date of the judicial claim until full payment, in addition to fees, expenses, and legal costs.

The law firm stated in its lawsuit that it and the defendant had concluded an agreement to provide legal services including reviewing, examining, and providing legal opinions on 150 contracts annually, comprising internal contracts with employees and external contracts with clients for seven companies, for a fee of Dhs120,000 plus 5% VAT, equivalent to Dhs6,000, bringing the total amount to Dhs126,000, to be paid in monthly installments of Dhs10,500 per month.

The documents showed that the defendant paid Dhs63,000, while refraining from paying the remaining amount despite the firm fulfilling its agreed-upon obligations.

The firm submitted documents including a copy of the fee agreement signed between the two parties, along with electronic correspondence proving their dealings, while the defendant did not attend the court sessions despite being legally notified.

The court clarified that the plaintiff proved its adherence to the contract, while the defendant did not provide anything to prove his fulfillment of his obligation or to refute the firm's claims.

The court ordered the defendant to pay Dhs63,000 to the plaintiff firm with legal interest of 5% annually from the date of the judicial claim until full payment, in addition to fees and expenses.