Khaberni - The Primary Civil Court in Dubai ruled to dismiss a financial claim lawsuit valued at 15 million and 590 thousand dirhams, initiated by a person against his friend, based on a signed debt acknowledgment between them, after the court concluded that there was no evidence proving that the defendant had received the loan amount subject to the claim, and acquitted him of the amount involved in the acknowledgment.
The case details trace back to a civil lawsuit filed by the plaintiff demanding that the defendant be compelled to pay the disputed amount, which represents the remaining balance of a loan he claimed to have granted him, including legal interest at a rate of 5% until full repayment.
The plaintiff stated in his claim that the defendant signed an acknowledgment of receiving an amount of 15 million and 877 thousand dirhams as a loan, with an agreed repayment plan that included 11 installments. However, he did not adhere to the agreed installments despite being given sufficient time and attempting to settle the matter amicably with him through multiple messages sent via WhatsApp, in which he demanded the fulfillment of his financial obligations.
According to the lawsuit documents, the defendant only paid 287 thousand dirhams, before later sending a judicial warning denying the entire debt, claiming that the signed document between them was merely an agreement, and demanded the return of the guarantee cheque he had given to the plaintiff.
In light of this dispute, the court referred the case to a forensic accountant to examine the financial relationship between the parties. The expert's report indicated that the relationship between them was originally one of friendship, and WhatsApp conversations between them included multiple financial transactions, although no documents were presented to clarify the nature of these transactions or their connection with the disputed loan amount.
The report highlighted a document titled "Debt Acknowledgment" signed by both parties which contained an acknowledgment from the defendant of having received a personal loan amounting to 15 million and 877 thousand dirhams with a specified repayment plan.
However, the expert confirmed that the lawsuit documents lacked any accounting documents or bank transfers to prove that the plaintiff had indeed delivered this large sum to the defendant.
A significant point the expert considered was that WhatsApp conversations between the parties over about six months did not mention the loan subject of the lawsuit, even though this period saw the due dates for the first four installments of the loan, amounting to about 6.1 million dirhams.
The conversations also showed that the plaintiff was asking the defendant to help him with money to cover his living expenses, children's education, and household expenses, which the expert considered to be inconsistent with the debt acknowledgment which presupposed that the plaintiff was financially capable of lending such a large amount.
The report detailed that the defendant transferred an amount of 140 thousand dirhams to the plaintiff's account, followed by another transfer of 147 thousand dirhams. The plaintiff confirmed receipt of the amount via a WhatsApp message.
However, the expert pointed out that these amounts did not align with the repayment plan stated in the debt acknowledgment, nor was it proven that they were paid towards the disputed loan account.
After reviewing the case documents and the expert's report, the court concluded that the plaintiff did not present any evidence proving he had delivered the loan amount subject to the claim, noting that the lawsuit documents lacked any bank transfers, account statements, or receipts to confirm the delivery of the loan amount, despite its large size.
The court noted that the plaintiff did not issue any demands or reminders for payment when the installments were due according to the repayment plan, which it considered an additional indicator of the lack of seriousness in the debt claim.
Based on this, the court concluded that the plaintiff failed in his obligation to prove the delivery of the loan, rendering his claim for its value legally baseless.
In turn, the court accepted the counterclaim filed by the defendant, demanding the nullification of the debt acknowledgment and his acquittal from any amounts due, affirming in the reasons for its decision that the absence of evidence for the delivery of the loan amount makes the defendant not obliged to repay it.
The court ruled to reject the original lawsuit filed by the plaintiff and to accept the counterclaim in form and substance, acquitting the defendant’s liability from the amount involved in the debt acknowledgment, and ordered the plaintiff to pay the fees and expenses of both lawsuits and an amount of one thousand dirhams as attorney fees.
