Two investors have launched separate court action against Dubai developer Damac over the sale of residential properties in the Park Towers apartment building in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
Amjad Hafeez claims he was deceived by the developer because the net size of the apartment he bought off the plan for AED1.6 million ($453,000) in 2004 ended up being 4.35 percent smaller and differently configured than the agreed plan.
According to court documents lodged at the DIFC Courts, Hafeez claims the layout of the apartment was “such that the habitable space in the apartment was completely uncomfortable”.
The size of the balcony had been cut by one-quarter and re-shaped, the layout of the finished bathroom was “zigzag and uncomfortable” and the entrance from the living area to the bedroom had been “completely changed”, his claim says.
Damac also had re-designed the building to create 10 apartments on the floor – level six – two more than planned when Hafeez agreed to buy the apartment.
Hafeez also claims he also was deceived by the company when in January 2012 he received a letter claiming a late payment charge of AED50,102 without any prior notice. The amount was allegedly reduced by AED15,000 when he objected.
He continued to refuse to pay the “late fee” and served a legal notice on Damac, which subsequently withdrew the payment request.
Hafeez says he went to the Damac office to complete handover of the finished property on December 16, 2012, and claims he was coerced by an employee to sign a document finalising handover without being allowed to view the apartment.
Following inspection and realising the apartment was different to what he had agreed to purchase, Hafeez says he immediately wrote to Damac seeking a full refund plus interest.
He claims he received a phone call from a Damac employee from the property handover team who asked to “discuss options to redress the grievance of the Claimant as to the misrepresentation”, the court documents show.
Hafeez says he was later offered ownership of a car parking lot in Lake Terrace tower, also developed by Damac, which he refused.
Several months later he says he received a final reminder notice to complete handover formalities for the apartment and a subsequent identical notice two weeks later.
Hafeez claims Damac did not respond to several letters he wrote to the company, including one directed to chairman Husain Sajwani, in an attempt to resolve the issue.
“… the [facts of the] case clearly demonstrates that the Defendant knew that many of its statements and representations as regards to the Apartment, per the Agreement, have become false by the time the handover of property was being arranged, and that the Defendant failed in its duty to disclose the truth to the Claimant in a timely manner,” a court document states.
Hafeez claims Damac made fraudulent statements and representations because it knew they were false or it was reckless as to whether they were true or false.
In a separate case, Pakistani investor Youssef Issa Ward is claiming AED2.63 million, plus interest, from Damac, who he claims has withheld the money based on a contract he denies exists.
According to court documents, Ward paid the money to Damac as part of an agreement to consolidate amounts he had already paid for various apartments in projects that were later cancelled by Damac during the financial crisis.
However, Ward denies signing an agreement to purchase the property, upon which he says Damac is relying to withhold the deposit towards an apartment in Park Towers worth a total AED4.544 million after he did not pay the remaining amount.
He claims that even if a reservation agreement with his signature exists Damac still was not entitled to retain the AED2.63 million.
Damac has not lodged a reply to the claims with the court and declined to comment when contacted by Arabian Business.
Ward’s trial is due to be heard on December 14, followed by Hafeez’s claims on March 8, 2015.
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