Dubai property bounce: Amlak cases drop sharply

Just eight cases, including three new ones filed in the past two months, are pending against Amlak, according to  Judge Mohammed Bassiouni, head of the judiciary committee assigned to handle cases against the property finance company.

He said in an exclusive statement to Emirates 24/7 that the cases filed against Amlak had dropped significantly in recent times, with the average number of new cases received by the committee being one per month.

“The number of cases on hand at present does not exceed 20 per cent of the volume of cases that were received by the committee when it was formed in 2009,” added.

Judge Bassiouni attributed the decline in cases against Amlak to the easing of the real estate crisis and Dubai government’s financial support to the company.

He added that Amlak had recommenced projects suspended earlier and reached settlements with investors who have accepted the company’s proposal to postpone some projects.

Judge Bassiouni said the committee has considered and issued verdicts in a total of 150 cases so far. In 20 per cent of the cases, a compromise was reached between the two parties as a result of arbitration by the committee.

About half of the verdicts went in favour of Amlak, with the remaining half in favour of investors, he said.

The judicial committee was formed to hear cases brought against Amlak and Tamweel after His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and  Ruler of Dubai, issued Decree No. 61 of 2009 which provided for the formation of the committee.

Meanwhile, Resolution 27 of August 2011 was issued  which brought cases against Tamweel under the purview of Dubai Courts.

As a result of that resolution, the judiciary committee became the only body competent to consider cases against Amlak. The judgments of the committee are final and  may cannot be challenged before any other court.

Legal procedures to consider cases against Amlak usually takes about a month and three months if expert opinion is sought.

Judge Bassiouni said most investors who file lawsuits seek termination of the contract and recovery of premiums and pre-payments for non-implementation of its contractual obligations by Amlak.

Amlak usually asks the committee to dismiss the case, justifying it by saying that the investor has not committed to pay the remaining installments and so the investor’s request to cancel the contract is illegal, the judge said.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.