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Dubai: How to lodge court complaint if you don’t get promised returns on investment

Dubai - This can be done at the Centre for Amicable Settlement of Disputes of Dubai Court if the amount invested is less than Dh200,000.

Question-I invested in a small food delivery company in Dubai. The investment was for six months, starting January 2021, and the returns were to be paid on a weekly basis. I received the first four weeks of payment on time, and then a partial one in March. When I checked, I was informed that the delay was caused by some banking issues and that I would be paid the rest along with April returns. However, since then, I have not received any payments and now the contract has also expired. I tried meeting the company’s management, but have not been able to. I have a contract and a notary- attested court agreement between me and the company’s CEO/owner. Several other investors have also raised their concerns on different platforms. How can I claim my returns?

Answer-Pursuant to your queries, we assume that the governing laws mentioned in the agreement signed between you and the food delivery company are federal laws of the UAE. We further assume that the jurisdiction for dispute resolution in the said agreement is mentioned as Dubai Courts. Therefore, the provisions of Federal Law No. 11 of 1992 Concerning issuance of the Civil Procedures Code (the ‘Civil Procedures Code Law of UAE’) are applicable.

You have not mentioned the sum of money that you have invested in the food delivery company. Therefore, as you have evidence to support your claim in the form of a notarised agreement signed between you and the owner of the company, you may consider lodging a civil complaint. This can be done at the Centre for Amicable Settlement of Disputes of Dubai Court if the amount invested is less than Dh200,000. This centre is a reconciliation department of Dubai Courts which deals with debts/claims amounting up to Dh200,000.

At the time of filing a claim before the centre, you must provide full details pursuant to the Article 42 of Federal Law No. (11) of 1992 regarding Civil Procedures Law of UAE, which states: “1-Lawsuits shall be filed to the court according to the plaintiffs' request by submitting the statements of claims to the case management office or by creating electronic records for such lawsuits.

2-The statement of claim shall include the following details:

a-The plaintiff's name, title, ID number (if any), profession or job, domicile, workplace, phone number, as well as his representative's name, title, profession or job, domicile, residence, postal address, fax number or email address. If the plaintiff has no domicile in the state, he shall elect one.

b-The defendant's name, title, ID number (if any), profession or job, domicile or elected domicile, residence, workplace, phone number, as well as his representative's name, title, profession or job, domicile and workplace if he works for others. However, in case neither the defendant nor his representative have a known domicile or workplace, the last domicile, residence or workplace and postal address, fax number or email thereof shall be mentioned.

c-The subject matter of the lawsuit, requests and grounds thereof.

d-The date of submission of the lawsuit to the case management office.

e- The court before which the lawsuit is filed.

f-Signature of the plaintiff or his representative……"

You may approach the Centre for Amicable Settlement of Disputes of Dubai Court for further clarifications.

However, if the governing law and dispute resolution clause in the agreement between you and the food delivery company is not the federal laws and Dubai Court or any other court in the UAE, you may have to abide by the alternative form of dispute resolution as mentioned in the said agreement.

Ashish Mehta is the founder and Managing Partner of Ashish Mehta & Associates. He is qualified to practise law in Dubai, the United Kingdom and India. Full details of his firm on: www.amalawyers.com. Readers may e-mail their questions to: news@khaleejtimes.com or send them to Legal View, Khaleej Times, PO Box 11243, Dubai.