Abu Dhabi court orders man to pay woman AED48,861 for unpaid iPhones

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Commercial Court of First Instance has ordered a man to pay AED48,861 to a woman, representing the outstanding balance for three mobile phones purchased under an instalment agreement. The court also ordered the defendant to pay late-payment interest at a rate of 1 per cent per annum from the date the claim was filed until full settlement, provided that the interest does not exceed the principal debt. According to court records, the woman filed a lawsuit seeking AED48,861, the remaining amount owed under an instalment sale contract, as well as AED6,000 under a penalty clause contained in the agreement. She also requested interest, fees and expenses. The claimant stated that the defendant had purchased three iPhones for AED53,849, under an agreement requiring payment in monthly instalments according to a specified schedule, with a maximum repayment period of 348 days from the date of the contract. She told the court that the defendant failed to meet his obligations under the agreement and paid only part of the amount due despite repeated requests for payment, including through WhatsApp messages. To support her claim, she submitted copies of the sale agreement, the phone delivery receipt, the instalment schedule and WhatsApp correspondence between the parties. The defendant appeared before the court and requested additional time to submit a response. Although the request was granted, he did not subsequently file a defence. In its ruling, the court noted that the contract included a penalty clause entitling the claimant to AED6,000 if the defendant failed to make payments for more than 10 days and the claimant was required to resort to legal action to recover her dues. The court found from the submitted evidence that the defendant had paid only AED4,987 of the total contract value of AED53,849, leaving an outstanding balance of AED48,861. It also noted that the contract stipulated that all remaining instalments would become immediately due in the event of a payment default. However, the court rejected the claimant's request for the AED6,000 penalty clause, finding that the amount was not proportionate to the actual damage suffered. The court ruled that the defendant must pay the claimant AED48,861, together with late-payment interest of 1 per cent per annum from the date of filing the lawsuit until full payment, without exceeding the principal debt. The court further ordered that legal costs be shared between the parties, with the claimant bearing 20 per cent of the expenses and the defendant 80 per cent, while dismissing all other claims.