Court orders grandmother to pay father Dhs5,000 for denying him access to his children for 8 months

The Al Ain Court for Civil, Commercial, and Administrative Cases has ordered a grandmother to pay a father Dhs5,000 in compensation after she prevented him from seeing his children for more than eight months.

The father filed a lawsuit against his children’s grandmother, seeking Dhs50,000 in compensation for the moral and psychological harm caused by being denied access to his children. He based his claim on a prior criminal judgment in the same matter and asked that the defendant also be ordered to pay legal fees and costs.

The plaintiff said the grandmother had refused to hand over the children to the person legally entitled to their custody, an act for which she had been convicted in a criminal case. He argued that her conduct had caused him significant harm, leading him to seek compensation.

The court found that the defendant’s fault had been established and that her actions had caused the plaintiff both psychological and material harm.

It ruled that the clear causal link between her conduct and the resulting damage made her legally liable for compensation. After considering the circumstances of the case, the court set the compensation at Dhs5,000.