Source: Emirates Today – Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi Court for Family, Civil, and Administrative Claims ordered a woman to repay AED 225,000 she had borrowed from a man, after her indebtedness was proven through bank transfers and exchanged WhatsApp messages between them. The court also ordered her to pay AED 10,000 in compensation for the damages he suffered as a result of her failure to repay the debt.
According to the case details, the man filed a lawsuit against the woman, requesting that she be ordered to return AED 225,000 and pay him AED 20,000 in compensation for the damages she caused, in addition to legal interest, court fees, expenses, and attorney’s fees.
He stated that the defendant, due to financial difficulties, had asked him for a loan. Based on her request, he transferred a total amount of AED 225,000 to her bank account in two installments: the first amounting to AED 150,000 and the second amounting to AED 75,000. The defendant acknowledged receiving the money and undertook to repay it, as confirmed by WhatsApp correspondence. However, she refused to make the repayment despite repeated demands. He submitted copies of the bank transfers and social media conversations as evidence supporting his claim.
In its reasoning, the court explained that the documents and electronic communications exchanged between the two parties showed that the defendant did not dispute the existence or the total amount of the debt. Instead, she acknowledged receiving the claimed amount but failed to provide evidence proving repayment or clearing her liability.
The court noted that her statements before the court contradicted what was established in the electronic messages, without her challenging the authenticity of those messages or providing evidence to disprove their contents. Despite appearing before the court, she also failed to present any serious defense disputing the existence or amount of the debt. Based on all the evidence, the court concluded that the debt was proven and that the defendant remained liable to the claimant for the requested amount.
Regarding the compensation claim, the court stated that the defendant’s wrongdoing was her failure to repay the debt and loan, which caused the claimant both moral and material damages. These included psychological distress and sadness, as well as financial losses resulting from the loss of potential earnings and the deprivation of his money.
The court found that these damages were established and that there was a direct causal link between the defendant’s actions and the harm suffered, fulfilling the requirements for civil liability. Accordingly, the court ordered the defendant to pay the claimant AED 225,000, in addition to AED 10,000 as comprehensive compensation, along with court fees and expenses, while rejecting all other requests.