Dubai: The Dubai Ruler’s Court has given its final ruling in a 17-year-old case, ordering a business owner to pay his nephew Dh6.8 million for having denied the latter his claim to 25 per cent of profits as a partner in his business.

The Expertise and Disputes Settlement Department of the Dubai Ruler’s Court recently settled the case dating back to 1986 when the defendant brought his nephew to work for his firms, promising him a profit share of 25 per cent. Later, once profits started flowing in, the nephew asked for his share but the defendant denied the claimant’s right to profits or the partnership.

The claimant even tried to settle the dispute amicably with the defendant who, at that point, admitted that his nephew did have rights to his companies’ profits. However, once both sides tried to arrive at a calculation of the claimant’s share of profits, there were disagreements and the defendant denied the claimant’s right.

The case was then transferred to the Expertise and Disputes Settlement Department, which conducted checks on the legal classification of the defendant’s businesses, amendments to trade licences and establishment contracts and branches of the business and exhibitions organised by it across the seven emirates.

The department also reviewed the financial statements of the defendant’s companies and profits and how such profits were distributed. It also held many meetings with both sides to debate the case and get more information.

Hashem Salem Al Qiwani, Director of the Dubai Rulers Court’s Disputes Settlement Department, said that after conducting thorough investigations into the case, the department found that the defendant had been owning a number of companies since 1980 and that he opened branches across the UAE and brought his sister’s son, the claimant, to work for him in 1986. It also found out that the defendant granted the claimant a power of attorney to run some of the firms and to manage their bank accounts and that the claimant had been listed as a partner with a 25 per cent share of profits.

Al Qiwani added that, after reviewing the companies’ budgets since the claimant had entered into the partnership, the department discovered that the budgets had been fudged and did not reveal the real financial status of the companies and had been prepared in such a manner that they could avail themselves of financial facilities from banks.

The department also examined some documents of the defendant’s companies, which revealed that there was an active account registered in the name of the claimant but the claimant was not an employee at the companies and was not receiving a monthly salary and had not signed any work contracts to the effect.

In addition, the documents listed all cash transactions that have been conducted by the claimant since joining the defendant’s companies.

Al Qiwani noted that the defendant had clearly admitted that the claimant was an actual partner with 25 per cent profit share although he was not a legal partner in that his name was not listed on any trade licence or establishment contract, which supported the plaintiff’s claims.

After going though all documents pertaining to the dispute, the department submitted its final report to the court, which issued its final ruling, ordering the defendant to pay the claimant Dh6.8 million in compensation in lieu of the profits he was supposed to receive during the period of his association with the said companies that lasted from 1986 to 2000, Al Qiwani said.