Khaberni - The Al Ain Court for Civil, Commercial, and Administrative Claims ordered a man to pay another a sum of 200,000 AED, which is the price of a camel he bought from the seller (plaintiff) and refused to pay for, plus an order to pay 10,000 AED as compensation for the damages suffered by the seller due to the detention of the amount.
The court noted that the buyer (defendant) never objected to the financial value of the sale, but his objections were focused only on the agreed terms.
Details of the claim and the seller's demands
In detail, a man filed a legal case against another, demanding him to pay an amount of 200,000 AED, with a legal interest of 12% per annum on the demanded amount.
He also demanded that he be ordered to pay an amount of 30,000 AED as compensation for the delay in fulfilling a due cash debt, and for all material and moral damages incurred by him due to the buyer's breach of his contractual obligation.
The plaintiff alternatively requested the referral of the case for investigation and hearing of witnesses, in addition to ordering the defendant to pay the fees, expenses, and attorney's fees.
The seller based his claim on the fact that he sold a camel at the claimed price to the defendant, who then refused to pay the due price, presenting to the court images of conversations between them via the "WhatsApp" application as evidence of his right.
In contrast, the buyer (defendant) in his defense insisted that he discovered that the breed and age of the camel were different from what was agreed upon at the time of purchase, and this during his participation with it in a camel race.
Technical expertise report: prevailing custom condemns the buyer
The technical expertise report appointed by the court stated that according to the prevailing custom in this field, and since the buyer purchased the camel subject to the lawsuit and had actually transferred its ownership to his name, and participated with it in a camel race; he should have verified its breed and age or confirmed any other stipulations before transferring ownership and participating in any race. The report concluded by endorsing the sale process, with a recommendation to oblige the buyer to pay the sale value.
Reasons for the court's judgment and estimation of compensation
The court noted that the report of the committee appointed in the case, which it trusts, confirms the validity of the sale, and that the buyer must pay the agreed value.
Therefore, the court established with certainty that the plaintiff sold the camel for a price of 200,000 AED to the defendant, and that the latter has not paid the price to date; especially since the buyer was contacted in front of the general assessment committee, and he did not object to the value of the sale at all but only objected to the agreed terms, nor did the court prove any payment made by the buyer to the plaintiff from the value of the camel.
Regarding the compensation request, the court noted the proven fault of the buyer (defendant), which resulted in material and moral harm characterized by the seller not benefiting from the contractual amount, and the buyer detaining the amount without any justification, creating a sense of psychological pain for the seller resulted from the defendant's action.
The court confirmed the causal relationship between the fault and the harm, making the buyer legally obliged to compensate for that harm, which the court estimated at 10,000 AED, thereby ruling to oblige the buyer to pay the seller a total amount of 210,000 AED based on the reasons given, along with shouldering the expenses, while rejecting the other claims (including the interest and the additional compensation amount).
