A lawyer filed a civil lawsuit against her client after she defended him in two cases before the Ras Al Khaimah Misdemeanor Court on charges of insulting, threatening and assaulting, as he refused to pay her fees amounting to 10,500 dirhams.
The lawyer requested that the defendant be compelled to pay her her financial rights and 12% legal interest from the due date until full payment, and oblige him to pay fees, expenses and attorney’s fees.
The Ras Al Khaimah Partial Civil Court ruled obliging the defendant to pay the plaintiff 8,000 dirhams with legal interest of 6%, after estimating the fees from the date of issuance of the judgment until full payment, and obliging him to pay the lawsuit fees, expenses, and attorney fees for this lawsuit.
In detail, the plaintiff stated that she represented the defendant in two criminal cases, in her capacity as a lawyer, as the Public Prosecution referred him to court on charges of insulting, threatening, and assaulting a girl.
And she continued that she defended him and performed her task to the fullest, and a verdict of his innocence was issued, and she also defended him in the second case after he was accused of assaulting the physical integrity of a girl, insulting her, and exploiting communication devices and services to abuse her and hurt her feelings.
It confirmed the issuance of a ruling fining him 6,000 dirhams for the two charges, the appeal against the ruling on appeal, the acceptance of the appeal, the rejection of the appeal, and the upholding of the appealed ruling.
She explained that despite performing her duties, attending and representing the defendant and defending him, he refused to enable her to pay her fees, which she estimated at 10 thousand, and 500 dirhams added tax.
For his part, the defendant indicated in an answer memorandum that he submitted to the court that the case was not accepted to file it in a way other than the way drawn by the law, because the plaintiff had to submit a request to estimate the fees that she claims and she has the right to complain about the order issued by the court regarding the assessment of the fees, and that she had to return The court that issued the rulings to consider these fees, and maintained that the plaintiff contracted with his employer and received checks from him through him through the accountant, and that he paid the required amounts, and that the lawsuit filed by the plaintiff was “malicious”, due to the termination of her contract with his employer.
The ruling requested that the case not be accepted for lack of validity and proof.
The plaintiff responded to the defendant’s memorandum with an answer memorandum in which she adhered to the lawsuit she had filed, because Article 31 of the Law on Advocacy stipulates that if a dispute arises regarding fees, the lawsuit shall be brought to the competent court in accordance with the rules of civil procedures, and the court shall offer reconciliation to both parties. She added that the judge supervising the case offered reconciliation to the two parties, but that was not possible.
In the merits of a partial civil court ruling, it was stated that in the event that it is not possible to agree between the lawyer and his client regarding the fees, regardless of the existence of a fee agreement or not, the dispute is submitted to the court in accordance with the rules of civil procedures, and accordingly the plaintiff adhered to the legal procedures followed, and the defendant’s payment is in another way and free by refusal.
She explained that the court established that the plaintiff was committed to defending the defendant, and that she had the right to claim legal fees as long as it was proven that the fees were not agreed upon between the two parties and it was impossible to reconcile them.
And she pointed out that, pursuant to her discretionary authority in estimating the fees due to the plaintiff, taking into account the fees and efforts made, and taking into account the degree of the plaintiff as a lawyer, and given that the defendant did not prove payment of the fees due, he would have breached his obligations to pay the fees of the plaintiff, which the court estimates at a value of 8000 dirhams.
Accordingly, the Ras Al Khaimah Partial Civil Court ruled obliging the defendant to pay the plaintiff 8,000 dirhams with legal interest of 6% from the date of issuance of the judgment until full payment, and obligated him to pay the lawsuit fees, expenses, and attorney fees for this lawsuit.
The plaintiff represented the defendant in two criminal cases, in her capacity as a lawyer, after the Public Prosecution referred him to court on charges of insulting, threatening, and assaulting a girl.
The accused argued that the lawsuit filed by the plaintiff was “malicious”, and that its reason was the termination of her contract with his employer.
