UAE court overturns Dh2.7 million ruling against heirs over expired cheques

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation overturned a previous ruling that ordered the heirs of a deceased man to pay Dh2.7 million in settlement of two cheques issued in 2016, which were returned on the same date due to a signature mismatch. The court based its ruling on the inadmissibility of the claim due to the statute of limitations.

The court overturned the previous rulings, annulled the appealed judgment, and issued this new ruling declaring the case inadmissible due to the passage of time.

It noted that the issue of the signature mismatch dated back to 2016, as confirmed by the submitted documents, while the lawsuit was filed in 2025, two years after the death of the issuer. Thus the right to pursue the claim was void due to the statute of limitations.

The court papers say that the plaintiff filed a lawsuit requesting that the heirs be held jointly and severally liable to pay him Dh2.7 million, the value of two cheques issued in his favour by their deceased relative, which could not be cashed at the time. He sought payment to the extent of what the heirs had inherited from the estate, arguing that the deceased owed him the claimed amount, based on two cheques dated 2016, and that he had formally notified the heirs with a payment demand.

In a previous ruling, the Court of First Instance ruled in favour of the plaintiff, ordering the heirs to pay the amount within the limits of their inheritance. The heirs appealed the decision, but the appeals court upheld the original judgment. Subsequently, the heirs filed a further challenge, arguing that the claim was inadmissible due to the passage of time.

The Court of Cassation ruled that the heirs' appeal on the grounds of the passage of time was valid. It clarified that, under the provisions of the Civil Transactions Law, a cheque becomes due on the date indicated as its issuance date and cannot be presented for payment prior to that date. It also said that a cheque issued either within or outside the country and payable domestically must be presented for payment within six months.

In its ruling, the court referenced Article No. 679 of the same law, which stipulates that any claim by the holder for recourse against the drawer, endorsers, or others liable for the cheque’s value shall not be admissible after two years from the expiry of the presentment period.