The Role and Accountability of Court-Appointed Experts: Insights from a Landmark Judgment
Dubai Court of Appeal Judgment No. 34 of 2023
Court-appointed experts play an important role in UAE litigation. They assist UAE courts in assessing the technical aspects of cases before them and often their reports are adopted by the courts in rendering judgments.
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Ahmed AbdelnabiAssociate,Dispute Resolution
Dina AssarProfessional Support Lawyer,Dispute Resolution
In a recent landmark Dubai Court of Appeal decision (Judgment 34 of 2023 dated 14 September 2023), the court ordered four court appointed experts (the Defendants) to compensate the Appellant in the amount of AED 18 million. The Court held that the experts committed gross professional and technical errors by disregarding unrefuted written evidence when they prepared a report for a Rental Disputes Center (RDC) court in an eviction action by the landlord against the Appellant.
This article will consider the significance of the decision for UAE court proceedings.
The Appellant entered into a lease agreement with a landlord for a restaurant. However, due to issues allegedly caused by the landlord, the restaurant's opening was delayed approximately 5 years.
This led to a legal dispute between the Appellant and the landlord. The landlord filed an eviction action against the he Appellant. The Appellant responded by filing a counterclaim against the landlord in which it sought AED 20 million in compensation for both material and moral damages it claimed to have suffered.
The RDC Court of First Instance awarded the Appellant total sum of AED 4,282,150 against the landlord as compensation for the damage suffered by the Appellant.
The parties appealed to the RDC's Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal appointed an experts’ committee, comprising engineering and accounting experts (the respondents in this case), to assist the Court in determining the case.
The experts’ committee issued a report that was adverse to the Appellant, in which the committee concluded that the Appellant owed the landlord an amount of AED 1,672,020.99. The RDC’s Court of Appeal adopted the report and issued its final and enforceable decision to set aside the RDC’s Court of First instance judgment. The RDC Court of Appeal ordered the Appellant to pay the amount assessed by the experts’ committee to the landlord, in addition to the tenant’s eviction.
Having no other recourse against this decision in the RDC, the Appellant commenced a civil claim in the Dubai courts (Action No. 152-2022) against the members of the experts’ committee for damages sustained as a result of the experts’ committee’s flawed findings. The Appellant submitted a consultancy report to the civil court, in which it was asserted that the experts committed gross errors in preparing their report.
The Court decided that the Respondents(the experts) were liable for the damage sustained by the Appellant, and therefore ordered them to pay an amount of AED 18,000,000 to the Appellant as compensation.
In its reasoning the court held that:
"As the RDC court of appeal has based its ruling on misleading reports from the experts committee which claimed that the delay that occurred was caused by the appellant, the experts where intentionally trying to contradict the basis of the first instance court judgment. Despite the evidence and documents provided by the appellant, the respondents failed to produce a reliable outcome. They deliberately misrepresented facts to the court”.
The experts’ committee issued a report that was not based on established facts of the case. The judgment emphasises the importance of following accounting rules and practices if accountancy expertise is required for a case. The court also highlighted the importance of impartiality, professional oath to deliver the truth to the Court, based on an examination of written evidence. The experts failed to properly evaluate the technical and accounting issues so as to enable the Court to do justice between the parties.
This landmark judgment serves as a reminder of the essential role and responsibility of court-appointed experts in the judicial process. The judgment highlights what is required of an expert appointed by the UAE courts. The UAE has recently revised legislation that regulates experts with the aim of improving efficiency. These positive changes are comprehensive and support the courts’ work. It is important to note that this judgment may be appealed and considered by the court of cassation, so it remains to be seen what the final outcome of the Appellant’s case will be for the members of the experts’ committee.
For further information, please contact Naief Yahia or Ahmed Abdelnabi.
Published in October 2023
