Questions & Answers
Filing a civil case to claim money invested with a restaurant owner
We (12 persons) have invested in a Japanese restaurant (AED 100,000), each with 3 years contract.
After 2 years, the owner failed to pay the shop rent for the past 6 months and the landlord had closed the shop.
The owner signed a waiver to the landlord that he no longer has a claim on that shop, meaning to say, he already hands over the full restaurant to the landlord.
The landlord already sold the shop to another person. 3 of the investors already have bounced cheques while mine will expire in Oct 2018, and others as well.
Question 1.
What is the procedure for filing a case against the previous owner since he breached our contracts?
Question 2.
My cheque is still not due, can I file a case against him?
Question 3,
Do we need to get a lawyer with regards to our case?
Best regards,
Lea
Dear Lea,
Hope my message finds you well.
Further to your situation, kindly find my following answers:
Q1. We will file a civil case against the owner for the total claimed amount, furthermore, compensation of around 9% from the total payment, according to the Federal Civil Law of UAE (Articles no. 246, 267)
Q2. Legally you cannot file a criminal case against the owner since the cheque date is not due yet.
Q3. I am quite sure that you need to hire a lawyer because it is not easy to follow that whole case, and with pleasure, we offer you our services.
Please do not hesitate to contact me on my email "ms@elnaggarlegal.com"
Best regards
Mohammad Salah Shoaib
