Nakheel lawyers trim claims bill of former Counsel

Nakheel lawyers have reduced a legal fees bill claim by the developer’s former General Counsel from AED473,119 ($128,803) to AED132,000 at a Dubai World Tribunal costs hearing.

In August last year, former employee David John Nicholson won a AED752,000 ($205,000) judgment against the developer after his employment was terminated with a month’s notice, not the three months agreed to in his contract, court documents showed.

But at a recent hearing the former General Counsel’s claim for legal bills of some $128,803 were dismissed by Sir Anthony Evans, the First Chief of Justice at Dubai International Financial Centre court.

“It’s a good result,” said SJ Berwin associate Matthew Showler, representing Nakheel.

SJ Berwin had claimed in court that the true costs of Nicholson’s legal fees were somewhere nearer AED102,832 ($27,996).

Australian Nicholson was being represented by Dubai-based legal firm Davidson and Co - the same firm employed by former Nakheel CEO Chris O’Donnell, in his legal battle against Nakheel.

It was announced last week that O'Donnell will see a verdict on his multimillion-dollar claim for breach of contract against the UAE developer decided the week beginning Feb 6.

O’Donnell sued Nakheel in the Dubai World Tribunal last June, seeking $3m in long-term incentives as well as $290,850 related to currency fluctuations and $180,000 in interest.

Nakheel countered the claims in part by arguing that O’Donnell resigned before the end of his fixed-term tenure and was thus not entitled to his five-year incentive payment.

In a trial hearing last month, lawyers for the developer claimed the former CEO had failed to perform his duties and had “hung around” in order to complete his term and collect his payment.

Tim Taylor, for Nakheel, remarked that O’Donnell had received “a large amount of remuneration and had left a company that the government has had to bail out.”

Nakheel said in September it wrote down AED78.6bn ($21.4bn) from the value of its real estate during the Dubai debt crisis, which saw house prices in the city fall more than 60 percent from their peak.

The company made hundreds of staff redundant as it struggled to stem losses.