Dubai: A Dubai court ordered a person to pay another Dh2 million, the value of a personal loan he obtained under an acknowledgment of debt and a written undertaking to repay. However, he refused to return the amount on the agreed date, despite being legally notified.
In detail, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit demanding that the defendant be obligated to return Dh2 million, explaining that he had given him the amount in cash as a personal loan without interest, under an acknowledgment of debt and a promise to repay, on the condition that he would return it on a date agreed upon between them. However, the defendant did not commit to repayment despite the due date, which prompted him to give him a legal warning and then resort to the judiciary.
The plaintiff attached to his file a copy of the debt acknowledgment and payment undertaking, signed by the defendant, along with a legal notice demanding payment of the amount due.
The defendant did not appear before the court, despite being legally notified, and did not provide any evidence of payment of the amount or anything that would invalidate the documents submitted in the lawsuit.
The court explained in its ruling that the law of evidence places the burden of proving the right claimed by the plaintiff, while it defined an admission as informing a person of a right owed to another, and considered the customary document as evidence against the one who signed it, unless he explicitly denied what was attributed to him in terms of handwriting, signature, seal or fingerprint.
It emphasised that the principle is innocence, and that being preoccupied with debt is an incidental matter that the creditor must prove. If the creditor proves the debt, the burden of proving its disposal through payment shifts to the debtor.
It added that the plaintiff based his claim on the debt acknowledgment signed by the defendant, which included his receipt of two million dirhams in cash, and his pledge to return it on a specific date, which the court considered as evidence of the debt owed by him, especially since the defendant did not appear to present any defence or plea, and the papers lacked any indication of payment of the claimed amount.
Regarding the request for legal interest, the court indicated that late payment interest is due when the debtor is late in fulfilling his obligation, as compensation to the creditor for the damage resulting from non-payment on time, and that judicial custom has settled on calculating it at a rate of 5% annually from the date of the judicial claim when the debt is known in amount and is not subject to the court’s discretion.
Accordingly, the court ruled that the defendant must pay the plaintiff two million dirhams, plus legal interest at a rate of 5% per annum from the date of the lawsuit until full payment, and he must also pay the court fees and expenses.
Source: Emirates 24|7