Company ordered to cover legal costs and pay Dh6,000 as yacht ownership dispute concludes.
Dubai: A Dubai court has dismissed a company’s lawsuit seeking ownership of a luxury yacht, finding that the dispute had already been resolved through final court judgments.
The court rejected the company’s claim and ordered it to cover court costs and pay Dh6,000 in legal fees.
The company claimed that it had financed the yacht’s construction and was therefore its rightful owner, even though the vessel was registered under another company’s name.
It also sought to block the enforcement of an earlier judgment, alleging that the ruling had been secured through fraud, deception and collusion.
Ownership dispute
According to court documents, the company claimed it had entered into agreements with shipbuilders in 2009 to have the yacht constructed for its benefit, using its own funds to cover the purchase price and associated costs.
To support its claim, the company submitted payment records, receipts and other documents. It said the yacht was subsequently registered in the name of a separate company that had been established for that purpose.
The company asked the court to formally recognise it as the yacht’s rightful owner and permit the vessel to be registered either in its name or under an affiliated company.
The case followed an earlier lawsuit in which the court found that the vessel’s registered title was not valid and recognised another party as its lawful owner. That judgment also invalidated the yacht’s transfer and sale to another entity and allowed the successful party to register the vessel through an affiliated company.
The ruling was subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation, making the judgment final and binding.
Dispute cannot be reopened
The court ruled that the central issue of ownership had already been conclusively decided and therefore could not be brought before the courts again.
The court applied the principle that a dispute already resolved by a final judgment cannot be brought before the courts again when it involves substantially the same parties, subject matter and legal grounds.
It said the principle also extends to the key issues that formed the basis of the earlier ruling.
The court found that the previous judgment had conclusively determined questions surrounding the yacht’s title and ownership, including the finding that the registered ownership arrangement was invalid.
As a result, the company could not bring a fresh lawsuit in an attempt to challenge or circumvent the earlier final judgment.
Evidence fails to establish ownership
The court also reviewed the ownership structure of the companies involved, emphasising that each registered company has a legal identity separate from its shareholders, managers and affiliated entities.
It concluded that the documents presented by the claimant were insufficient to establish that it was the yacht’s legal owner or that the company listed as the registered owner was acting merely as a nominal holder.
The court found no legal grounds to depart from the conclusions reached in the earlier final judgments.
With the main lawsuit dismissed, the court also rejected the company’s urgent request to suspend enforcement of the previous ruling.
The case was dismissed in its entirety, with the claimant ordered to cover court costs and pay Dh6,000 in legal fees.
