An investor in Dubai's Palm Deira island project is suing for more than US$300,000 (Dh1.1 million) because the developer allegedly failed to register his townhouse with the authorities. Futtain al Baddad, a US citizen living in Sharjah, lodged the complaint with the Dubai World Tribunal, a special court set up to weigh claims against the Dubai World conglomerate. As one of the first cases before the tribunal, Mr al Baddad's claim could set precedents for how other claims by individual investors are treated.
Mr al Baddad is asking Palm Deira to return Dh760,000 he invested in 2005, plus 9 per cent interest and fees and expenses. He is seeking a total of US$302,966, according to a tribunal claim form. The tribunal is a central cog in Dubai's long-running effort to settle disputes, repay debts and shore up its finances. Dubai World, which owns Nakheel, the developer behind the Palm Deira, recently reached an agreement with about 99 per cent of its bank creditors on restructuring $24.9 billion of debt. In a separate deal, investors in delayed Nakheel projects are being offered the option of moving their investments to projects that are closer to completion or waiting five years for repayment.
Mr al Baddad bought a 3,500 square foot townhouse off-plan for a total of Dh3.8 million, according to a contract included in tribunal records. He says he and his brothers, Zayed and Fares, paid Dh380,000 to Nakheel as an instalment and Dh380,000 to the original buyer, an Emirati. Acting for Palm Deira, lawyers at Dalmook Mohammed Dalmook in Dubai countered in a defence filed last week that the case should not be accepted because Mr al Baddad was acting as a representative of his brothers, even though the contract was solely between him and the company.
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