Dubai Court rebuffs investor’s USD6.76m refund case against Nakheel

26 Dec 2012

(MENAFN) The Dubai Real Estate Court has refused a lawsuit filed by an investor against property developer Nakheel asking for a refund of USD6.76 million, reported Emirates 24/7.

The court’s documents show that the claimant had decided to acquire one of the islands in the World project for USD25.04 million, which was to be made in payments.

The investor said he paid USD7.34 million as down payment and the first installment.

However, according to him, Nakheel did not issue a sales and purchase contract, moreover, the area lacked any services, facilities or infrastructure, thus, making it impossible to start any project on the plot he had purchased.

Therefore, the claimant demanded the court to end the contract and consented to pay 10 percent of the amount already paid as compensation to the developer, and asked for the aforementioned refund.

Nevertheless, the court refused the case on the basis of Article 267 of the Civil Transactions Act, which shows that a contract can be terminated only by mutual consent or litigation or under the letter of the law.

Moreover, Article 246 of the Civil Transactions Act stipulates that the investor’s commitment is not limited to what was mentioned in the agreement, but comprises everything that is on the periphery.

The verdict also considered the failure on the investor’s part to keep to the terms of the contract, which he inked with Nakheel.

According to the court, the agreement between the two parties stipulates that the purchaser inks “sale and purchase agreement”, and it will be delivered to the seller within 30 days from the date of “contract of reservations”, adding that in case the buyer fails to do so within the specified period, the seller is entitled to return to the buyer 10 percent of the first payment and the installment, in addition to any other premiums obtained from him.

Furthermore, documents show that the investor is the one who wanted to break the contractual relationship and did not sign the “sale and purchase agreement” within the period specified in the contract, thus, the seller had the right to cancel the contract, as a penalty for the buyer as a result of his failure to execute his contractual commitments.