Abu Dhabi court orders man to pay Dhs73,800 and Dhs3,000 compensation for knowingly selling defective vehicle

Abu Dhabi Family, Civil and Administrative Cases Court obligated a man to pay Dhs73,800 plus Dhs3,000 compensation to another on fraud charges.

The victim bought a vehicle from the defendant, who claimed that it was in excellent condition and free of defects or accidents.

After using the vehicle, however, the victim found that it suffered serious and sudden malfunctions and upon inspection, it was found that it had previously been submerged in rainwater and written off by the insurance company as a total loss.

Earlier, the buyer filed a lawsuit against the seller in which he requested that vehicle sale contract in question be annulled and the seller be obligated to return its price to him plus Dhs7,000 in compensation for the material and moral harms he had befallen.

The plaintiff also requested the court to obligate the defendant to pay legal interest at 12 per cent per annum on the amount awarded from the date of filing the lawsuit until full payment and to settle the incurred charges, expenses and lawyer’s fees.

The buyer pleaded that he bought the vehicle and paid its full price after the seller had confirmed that it was in excellent condition and free of defects or accidents.

After using the vehicle, however, the buyer found that it suffered serious malfunctions, the buyer said, adding that after being inspected by the authorised agency, the vehicle was found to have been previously submerged in rainwater and written off by the insurance company as a total loss.

This revealed that the seller had deliberately concealed an essential fact and defrauded him when concluding the sales contract, he said, adding that he this would entitle him to request the court to revoke the sales contract and obligate the seller to return the price and compensate him for the material and moral harms he suffered.

The court stated that it was established from the documents submitted by the buyer that the seller sold the vehicle while it had a hidden defect that could not be easily discovered except by checking the insurance records.

As it was satisfied with the conclusion reached by the appointed expert, the court hereby concluded that there was a hidden defect in the vehicle in dispute and that the seller did not disclose it to the buyer when the sale contract was signed.

Therefore, the court rules that the sales contract be rescinded, that the contracting parties return to the condition that they were in before the contract was signed and that the seller refund the buyer Dhs73,80, this being the price of the vehicle.

Whereas the seller caused the buyer material harms (loss of profit and inability to benefit from the vehicle) and moral harms (regret and remorse), the court hereby ruled that the buyer be given a comprehensive and reparative compensation of Dhs1,500 for the material harms and Dhs1,500 for the moral harms.