Q: Dear Sir/Madam, Warm greetings from Ukraine. Our company provided services to UAE company last year according to partnership agreement that was signed by both parties. However we didn't receive payment till now. Company representatives are not providing any specific information regarding terms of payment and we are not sure they will pay at all. Would you be so kind to advise the best and cheapest legal way in order to resolve payment issue? Thank you very much in advance.

Q: I was persuaded by my friend to put money in an online trading, and he will trade on my behalf and will share the profits. He guaranteed me that he will trade very carefully and the principal amount will not decrease, but he lost all the money in one night which is AED 35000. Then he gave me 6 cheques of 5000 each payable after every third month. Kindly advise how to proceed as he is not ready to pay now.

Q: I have been given some investments in a few companies with a contract on a fixed agreed profit. Now, they default on the agreed profit and even delayed paying back of capital. What procedure do we have to follow to recover our investments?

Q: We invested in a clinic venture (LLC) as a 25% partner with an investment totalling approx. AED 600k. The starting date of the clinic was supposed to be 31 December 2018 as per the sale and purchase agreement. 9 months have passed, and even the basic inspection to activate the license has not been done. I want to file a case against the original investors whose scope of work includes the activation of the clinic license, as they are currently deceiving me and creating excuses not to start the clinic. They haven't shown till date a breakdown of expenses and where my investment has gone as the condition of the clinic has worsened. Additionally, they are now asking for more money or threatening to close down the clinic as they haven't paid the rent for 5 months and have informed me only this week. Kindly help me in this case. What can I do?

Q: Before 2 years, I gave a loan to the owner of an advertising company. He was getting an order of advertising on a 2-3 month credit basis. However, he did not have the cash amount to pay the suppliers; hence, I gave him a loan against a share of transaction profit. Against my cash cheque, he was giving me 2-3 month post-dated cheque for the amount value of cash paid + the profit. Things went well until the very last cheque bounced with an amount value of AED 80,000. Further, I gave the same owner but under a different company (gym business) AED 100,000 to purchase new gym equipment. He gives me rent of 3K per month until 6 months and after that, he pays me 114K to own the gym equipment. Only 2 x 3K cheque cleared but the rest bounced. Now, I'm left with 80K cheque from the advertising company, 3 x 3K from the gym company, 100K from the gym company, 14K from the gym company. Can I legally proceed and successfully get my money back? What are the procedures and how much will it cost? Thanks

Q: Hi I sold my shares in a restaurant business in Abu Dhabi for AED 600k, paid in post-dated cheques of AED 20k a month. The cheques are issued against the business itself, not the owner. The first AED100k were paid but starting Feb 2020, the owner stopped paying the cheques claiming the business was going bankrupt soon but the business is still operating and seems to have survived the COVID-19 situation. I need legal advice to get the owner to start paying the cheques. All the post-dated cheques are deposited in a bank but they are issued against another bank. The business is registered in Abu Dhabi.

Q: Dear sir/madam, I purchased a villa along with my business partner. The title deed says that we are equal partners in that villa. Later on, the partner signed an affidavit (not notarized) stating that his share of the villa was actually a loan from me, and he would return his share of the villa and also pay 5% interest from the date of the title deed whenever I ask for it. Now, I want my partner to give me his share of the villa but he refuses. So I sent a legal notice. The notice period has expired. Q1. Can I file a performance order AMR AL ADA for this issue since the debt is unconditionally confirmed in writing (or is a performance order only possible for commercial contracts and money, not possible for a property)? Q2. If it's possible to have a performance order case, can I also ask for the agreed interest from the date that I purchased the villa?

Q: Hello, I met someone who needed financing for the business and offered me a business partnership. We entered into an agreement to add my name to the trade license as a partner, working on a 75/25 ratio. I incurred various expenses for his office, such as paying past DEWA bills, Chamber of Commerce payments, unpaid chiller bills, internet bills, and phone bills. All expenses were covered from my bank, and I have all transaction details with bank statements reflecting payments towards his office. I also paid cash salaries for overdue employees. However, he is not creating a legal agreement with me nor returning my money despite not proceeding with the partnership. I am seeking advice on legal options for such financial fraud. I have all documents related to him and his company, including bills paid towards his company, as well as screenshots of our conversations where he agreed to make payments but has not followed through. Kindly help me find a suitable way to tackle this situation where my funds are stuck.

Q: On June 23rd, I was introduced to a gentleman through a friend to partner with on developing a new software solution. For his end of the deal, he was to produce 45% of the software to a spec which was agreed in June, and then once it was built to that spec the company would take over payments. The company was established Aug 23rd. In September, he started asking for payments for 50% of the costs, circa 10k Euro or development would stop. To date, I have paid almost 70k Euro to him for the development. The software only became useable, still not to the agreed spec around 90 days ago. Since then he has been trying to get myself and my wife (jointly we own 45%) out of the company through various means. He tried to steal the domain by accessing my personal Tasjeel account to transfer to his own but this was stopped. He is now threatening to force company closure, no refund of our money, and keep the software for himself. What can we do? He has used almost all my cash to date to get to this point.

An interview-format article covering the topic of shareholder disputes in the UAE and pre-emptive measure to be considered. This is from the legal podcast of lawyer Ludmila Yamalova, the founder of Lawgical with LYLAW.

The provisions of this Law apply to the commercial companies established in the UAE and the foreign companies that have established in the UAE a base to conduct any activity therein or established a branch or representative office. The Law abrogates Federal Law No. (8) of 1984 Concerning Commercial Companies.