Dubai court rejects man’s attempt to reclaim gifted apartment from ex-wife after divorce

Dubai: The Dubai Court of First Instance has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a man seeking to revoke a residential apartment he had gifted to his ex-wife, ruling that the transfer was legally valid and cannot be reversed due to a statutory impediment under UAE law. The court also ordered the claimant to bear all legal costs and expenses, including Dh1,000 in lawyer’s fees.

The case involved a property in Dubai that the man had transferred to his then wife under a gift agreement during their marriage, with the ownership formally registered in her name at the Dubai Land Department. Following their divorce, the man filed a lawsuit requesting the annulment of the gift contract, cancellation of all its legal effects, removal of the property registration in his ex-wife’s name, and re-registration of the apartment in his name.

He argued that the gift had been made on the assumption that their marital relationship would continue, claiming that his ex-wife later fabricated disputes and filed for divorce without justification, thereby unjustly benefiting from the property.

In response, the defendant, represented by legal counsel, challenged the case by arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction and that the matter should instead be heard before the Personal Status Court. She also requested dismissal of the lawsuit on the grounds that it lacked legal basis and supporting evidence.

The court rejected the jurisdictional argument, affirming that civil courts have general authority to adjudicate financial disputes, including those arising between spouses, unless the law expressly provides otherwise. It clarified that personal status laws do not exclude disputes related to financial transactions between spouses from the jurisdiction of civil courts.

In its reasoning, the court referred to provisions of the UAE Civil Transactions Law, which define a gift as the transfer of ownership without consideration during the lifetime of the owner, concluded through offer and acceptance and completed upon possession. The court found that the gift agreement had been properly executed and registered, and that the ex-wife had taken possession of the property, making the gift complete and legally binding.

The court emphasised that under UAE law, a gift between spouses constitutes a legal barrier to revocation, meaning it cannot be cancelled unilaterally or through litigation unless specific conditions are met and no legal impediment exists. In this case, the existence of a marital relationship at the time of the gift was itself sufficient to prevent revocation.

The claimant’s arguments that he had been misled and that the marital relationship had ended were found insufficient to override this legal restriction. The court noted that while the law permits revocation of gifts in certain circumstances, such revocation is conditional on the absence of legal impediments, which were clearly present in this case.

It further stressed that the burden of proof lies with the party making the claim, and that the claimant failed to establish valid legal grounds to justify revoking the gift.

Accordingly, the court dismissed the lawsuit in full, upheld the validity of the gift agreement, and confirmed the ex-wife’s ownership of the apartment, ordering the claimant to pay court fees, expenses, and Dh1,000 in legal costs.