A civil court awards damages for psychological suffering while upholding a criminal verdict. Abu Dhabi: After intimidating and coercing a lady into sending money to him in order to keep him from filing a complaint against her, a civil court in Abu Dhabi ordered a man to compensate her Dh20,000. The court determined that monetary compensation was appropriate due to the man’s acts causing emotional anguish. The woman had launched a legal complaint, according to Emarat Al Youm, demanding Dh250,000 in reimbursement for the sum she said he had gained by coercion and threats. Along with court costs and legal bills, she also sought Dh150,000 for emotional suffering.
The complainant claimed that the man had coerced her into sending money under the guise of avoiding legal action by using threatening language and actions. She claimed that as a result of this coercion, she had written two checks totaling Dh250,000. The man was later charged with a crime and convicted guilty. The defendant replied that the issue should not be considered again because it had already been settled in earlier procedures. The Abu Dhabi Family, Civil and Administrative Cases Court, however, dismissed this argument, stating that the earlier case only dealt with the legality of a settlement agreement and the checks that were issued in accordance with it, not the criminal decision or its ramifications.
The court observed that the current case concentrated on the criminal verdict’s legal ramifications, which had not been taken into account before. The criminal verdict attested to the defendant’s use of internet communication to threaten and blackmail the woman, demanding money in order to keep him from filing a complaint. The court upheld the requirement that an offender give compensation for injury done to another person, citing rules from the UAE Civil Transactions Law. It concluded that the plaintiff was entitled to compensation since the threats and blackmail had caused her emotional suffering, including distress, anguish, and psychological impairment.
Nevertheless, the court rejected her claim for the Dh250,000 she claimed had been extorted, pointing out that the criminal decision did not verify that the defendant had received any funds and that she had not presented adequate proof, such as check numbers or documentation of transfers outside of the previously contested settlement. In its ultimate decision, the court dismissed all other claims and ordered the defendant to pay Dh20,000 in compensation for emotional losses, along with legal fees and court costs.
