Thursday, Feb 09, 2012
(Adds O'Donnell and Nakheel comments, details.)
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Former Nakheel Chief Executive Chris O'Donnell has won a $3 million claim against the Dubai real-estate developer for breach of contract, the Dubai World Tribunal ruled Thursday.
"The judgement will be that the defendant pays the claimant $3 million or the U.A.E. equivalent," said Anthony Evans, chairman of the Dubai World Tribunal. He was earlier the chief justice at the Dubai International Financial Centre court.
O'Donnell, who sued Nakheel last year for $3 million in "long-term incentive" payments that he was eligible for but did not receive when he left the company in mid-2011, also won AED917,000 in accrued annual leave payments.
"I am very pleased to have had the matter resolved and my claim upheld," O'Donnell, who is currently not in the United Arab Emirates, said in an emailed statement.
"Whilst I have been entirely vindicated by the Dubai World Tribunal, I am naturally disappointed that, despite my best efforts at compromise the matter was not able to be resolved amicably without the need to take costly legal proceedings that vented Nakheel's internal business in a public forum," he added.
Nakheel completed a AED59 billion debt restructuring plan in 2011 after the company got into financial trouble in late 2009, hit hard by the fallout from the global financial crisis, which saw housing prices in Dubai slump and a property bubble burst. The company had ramped up billions of dollars worth of debt during years of spending on some of the world's most extravagant real-estate projects such as Dubai's palm tree-shaped artificial islands.
O'Donnell's lawyers had also argued for 12% interest on the sums claimed, which was rejected by the tribunal, and AED540,000 as costs for an initial hearing which was brought down to AED224,000.
Nakheel, in an emailed statement Thursday, said it accepted the ruling.
"We respect today's court ruling. However, we firmly believe we have a strong case and if we had the right to appeal we would have done so," a spokesman for Nakheel told Zawya Dow Jones.
Nakheel's legal representative Mark Hoyle, a partner at SJ Berwin, said an appeal would not be possible as there is no right of appeal at the Dubai World Tribunal.
-By Tahani Karrar-Lewsley, Dow Jones Newswires; +9714 446-1692; Tahani.Karrar@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-02-12 1109GMT
