Questions & Answers
Debt claim from a company owner after the job is done
I run an architectural firm in London, UK. One of our clients is a property broker based in Dubai who also has a UK based company that was set up specifically to pay our fees.
He is the director of the UK company as well as the Dubai company. His company is refusing to pay us £12,000 that has been owed for work we completed over 12 months ago.
Is it possible to lodge a claim against him personally in Dubai as I have a feeling he will just shut down his UK company if I pursue it through the UK courts?
If so, what is the process and how much would the legal and court fees be?
We have a contract signed by him, but on behalf of his UK company, and a lot of correspondences between us and his company trying to recover the money.
Hi
If the contract was signed by the UK company, then the dispute must be filed against the UK company.
The UAE Commercial Companies Law is similar to the one in the UK in that the shareholders of companies are liable only up to the share capital invested unless it is proven that fraud or misrepresentation was committed during the deal.
So to reiterate, this must be a UK jurisdiction rather than a Dubai jurisdiction, hence, the case will have to be filed in the UK.
Regards,
Ahmed Odeh
