The Dubai Real Estate Court has mandated a real estate development firm to pay Dhs1 815 000 to an Asian investor. This ruling came after the company failed to deliver a plot of land that the investor had purchased for constructing a villa.

The court found that the company also neglected to protect the investor’s rights, as the land in question was seized and subsequently sold at a public auction. The investor had originally filed a lawsuit against several parties, including the project’s owning company and its management, seeking the return of Dhs1 665 000 paid for a 605-square-metre plot, along with an additional Dhs1 000 000 in compensation for incurred damages.

In their defense, the four parties involved requested the dismissal of the lawsuit, claiming that the investor had not adhered to the agreed 24-month construction timeline. They argued that the investor had also failed to complete the payment for the land.

However, the investor’s lawyer explained that the request for contract termination and compensation arose after the investor learned of a lawsuit filed against the company that sold her the land. The lawyer noted that judicial rulings confirmed the plot was initially granted as a gift, which was later invalidated.

The land was eventually seized due to legal disputes among partners and sold at auction to a prominent company, which now holds legal ownership. The investor’s inability to pay the remaining amount was attributed to the company’s failure to transfer ownership, and the court recognized that the auction ruling effectively negated the company’s ownership rights.

Ultimately, the court clarified that the first company alone was responsible for the contract, absolving the second, third, and fourth parties from involvement in the lawsuit. As a result, the court ordered the company to repay the amount to the investor.