Dubai firm awarded Dhs1.58 million over unpaid consulting services

An administrative consulting firm filed a lawsuit before the Dubai Commercial Court, requesting that an institution and a company be ordered to pay 1.6 Saudi Riyals, or approximately Dhs1.58 million, for consulting services provided, along with legal interest.

The court dismissed the case against the second company for lack of standing and ordered the institution to pay the outstanding amount and interest.

The case dates back to April 2023 when an administrative consulting firm entered into a service agreement with an institution, under which the firm undertook to provide consulting services to develop the holding company's operational strategies for a period of 12 months, renewable, for 3.4 million Saudi Riyals.

The plaintiff firm affirmed that it fulfilled its obligations and delivered the final project files, but the institution did not pay the full dues, explaining that the total value of the work performed reached 5.468 million Saudi Riyals, while the defendant party paid separate amounts, leaving a balance of 1.613 million Riyals.

The court affirmed, after appointing an accounting expert committee, that the report proved the plaintiff's fulfillment of its obligations and that the remaining amount represents the value of outstanding invoices for the services provided.

The court also found that the second defendant company was not a party to the service agreement and that the invoices and statement of account were issued in the name of the first institution.

Furthermore, the second company's transfer of approximately 1.58 million Riyals to the plaintiff's account was done at the request of the institution and within the framework of the relationship between the institution and the company, which did not make it a party to the contract or responsible for its obligations.

The court then rejected the plaintiff's request to consider the owner of the second company as a defendant and ordered the institution to pay 1,613,000 Saudi Riyals, equivalent to Dhs1.58, with 5% annual interest from the due date of each invoice until full payment, and ordered both parties to pay appropriate expenses and attorney fees, while rejecting all other requests.