Dubai court orders firm to pay Dh295,000 and return 50 motorbikes in rental dispute

Dubai: A Dubai civil court has ruled in favour of a motorcycle rental company, ordering a private firm to pay Dh295,000, plus legal interest at 5 per cent from the date of the claim until full settlement, and to deliver 50 motorcycles as originally contracted.

The judgment by the Dubai Primary Civil Court also requires the defendant to return the motorcycles in the condition they were in at the time of the contract, accounting only for normal wear and tear, and to bear the legal costs of the case.

According to Al Khaleej newspaper, the dispute began when a motorcycle rental firm filed a partial civil claim after being referred by the Amicable Dispute Settlement Centre. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant failed to honour its obligations under three separate leasing agreements, including timely payment of rental fees, returning the motorcycles at the end of the lease terms, and providing the necessary vehicle ownership transfer documents.

Court records show that the three contracts covered the leasing of 50 motorcycles at different intervals during 2024 and 2025, each with a specified monthly rental fee. The agreements explicitly prohibited the lessee from disposing of or transferring ownership of the motorcycles and required their return in the agreed condition.

The court noted that the claimant had fulfilled all obligations, including payment for the motorcycles, and had complied with the terms of the contracts.

An independent court-appointed expert confirmed the validity of the contracts and found that the defendant had neither paid the outstanding rental fees nor returned the motorcycles or provided the transfer documents, concluding that Dh295,000 was owed to the plaintiff.

The defendant argued that the case should be dismissed because the motorcycles’ registration had not been renewed. The court rejected this, noting that rent became due once the lessee was permitted to use the motorcycles and that the plaintiff had acted without negligence.

In its ruling, the court reaffirmed that “the contract is the law between the parties” and that failure to fulfil contractual obligations warrants compensation.