Woman sues her own sister over Dh340,000 unpaid loan

Abu Dhabi: An Abu Dhabi court has ordered a woman to repay her sister Dh340,000 after finding that the money formed part of a family loan that had not been fully repaid.

The Abu Dhabi Family, Civil and Administrative Claims Court also ordered the defendant to pay her sister Dh20,000 in compensation for the loss of use of the money and the material and moral harm caused by the dispute, according to Al Khaleej newspaper. 

The claimant told the court that her sister had asked to borrow Dh540,000, which she transferred in two payments, Dh500,000 followed by Dh40,000.

The defendant later repaid Dh200,000, leaving an outstanding balance of Dh340,000, according to the case documents.

The claimant said her sister had acknowledged the remaining debt in messages exchanged between them and had expressed a willingness to issue a security cheque and repay the amount in instalments.

According to the case, the defendant had also attempted to settle the dispute by offering to relinquish her share of an inheritance in favour of her sister.

The court found that the defendant had acknowledged receiving the money and noted that she had issued a manager’s cheque as security for the debt.

When questioned about why the cheque had been issued, the defendant did not provide an explanation for the underlying transaction beyond saying it had been intended to contain the dispute, the court said.

The claimant had sought repayment of the Dh340,000 balance, legal interest of 9 per cent from the date the case was filed and Dh200,000 in compensation for material and moral damages, together with further interest and court costs.

The court ultimately ordered the defendant to pay the outstanding Dh340,000, along with Dh20,000 in compensation.