Dubai court orders Dh29,000 payment after renters abandon luxury vehicle

Dubai: A Dubai civil court has ordered two Arab nationals to jointly pay nearly Dh29,000 to a car rental company after abandoning a hired vehicle following a traffic accident and leaving the country, leaving the firm to bear repair costs and unpaid rental fees.

The Dubai Court of First Instance ruled that the defendants were liable for Dh28,905, in addition to legal interest, court fees and lawyer’s costs, after finding that they had breached the terms of their rental agreement and failed to fulfil their contractual obligations.

Court records show that the case dates back to September 2024, when the two men rented a luxury vehicle for a period of four days under a standard rental contract that required the vehicle to be returned in the same condition and placed full responsibility for accident-related damage on the renters, Emarat Al Youm reported. 

According to the claim filed by the rental company, the vehicle was not returned at the end of the agreed rental period, nor was the company informed of any accident or emergency. Several days later, the car was discovered abandoned on a public street, showing visible damage to its front section. The company subsequently filed a police report to document the incident.

The absence of an official traffic accident report led the insurer to reject coverage for the damage, forcing the rental company to cover repair costs estimated at nearly Dh15,000. Additional losses included unpaid rental charges, contractual penalties, Salik toll fees and the cost of returning the vehicle with an empty fuel tank.

Unable to contact the renters, who had left the UAE, the company filed a civil lawsuit seeking recovery of its losses. The dispute was referred to case management before the court appointed a financial expert to examine the contract, repair invoices, police records and payment history.

The expert concluded that a valid contractual relationship existed between the parties and that responsibility for the damage rested with the renters under the terms of the agreement and the UAE Civil Transactions Law. After deducting a previously paid amount, the total outstanding liability was assessed at approximately Dh29,000.

In its reasoning, the court stressed that contracts are binding on the parties and must be executed in good faith, including all obligations arising from their nature, legal requirements and customary practice. The court added that it was satisfied with the expert’s findings and found no grounds to dispute them.

The court also noted that the defendants’ absence did not affect the validity of proceedings, as they had been duly notified in accordance with procedural law. It therefore ruled that the two men were jointly liable to pay the outstanding amount, along with legal interest from the date the case was filed until full settlement, in addition to court expenses and legal fees.