3 investors win Dh84m case against developers

Three investors won a Dh84-million lawsuit after a Dubai developer failed to deliver the property they had paid for. The three Asian investors told the Dubai Real Estate Court that they purchased 14 villas from the developer in 2007 worth Dh341 million, of which they paid Dh84 million.

The multi-purpose development project in Dubai Land covers over 4.15 million square feet and was to have large family homes and a series of low-rise apartment buildings. It was also supposed to have a golf course with sports facilities, restaurants and cafes.

However, when no villas were delivered in 2012, the trio agreed with the developer to cancel the 14-villa purchase and replace it with a new order for five villas to be delivered by June 30, 2016. The developers said they'd pay the difference.

The trio's legal consultant, Hasan Elhais from Al Rowad Advocates, provided the court with receipts that proved the payment of Dh84 million.

"The balance that remained after the developer took the price of the five villas was not returned to the investors," said Elhais.

After the court assigned an expert to assess the project, it emerged that only 17 per cent of it was completed in nine years due to lack of funds and labour force.

"We further backed it with a letter from the Dubai Land Department that proved that the whole project was pending," said Elhais. "The report also stated that the investors paid more than the value of five villas and were not given back the difference in price."

The court pronounced a verdict to cancel the agreements and ordered the developer to return the amount in addition to an annual 9 per cent interest from the date of the original agreement in 2007.

sherouk@khaleejtimes.com

Sherouk Zakaria

"Born and raised in UAE, Sherouk Zakaria is a Senior Correspondent at Khaleej Times. Joined since May 2016, she covers Dubai Municipality, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), special events and humanitarian issues. Her choice of journalism as a career stems from her passion of telling people's stories and writing to inspire or make a difference. In her free time, she's an occasional theater and film actress. Sherouk received her BA in Mass Communications from the American University in Sharjah in 2013. Before joining Khaleej Times, she was a senior lifestyle/entertainment editor for a magazine in Dubai."