Galadari wins landmark USD1 billion case before Dubai Court of Cassation
Galadari team Led by senior partner Bassem Pierre Daher has secured a significant litigation victory on behalf of a leading international oil company, one of the largest in the Middle East, successfully defending against commercial claims exceeding USD1 billion in a complex, high-stakes dispute before the Dubai Courts.
The Galadari disputes team successfully defended the client across all three judicial levels, culminating in a final judgment by the Dubai Court of Cassation dismissing the claimant’s appeal and upholding the dismissal of the main action in its entirety. The ruling brings the proceedings to a definitive conclusion, with no financial award against the client in respect of any of the amounts claimed.
The victory represents a significant outcome in a dispute involving substantial financial exposure, intricate contractual arrangements, highly technical energy-sector considerations, and extensive court-appointed expert examinations.
The dispute arose from a commercial services agreement involving a series of interdependent contractual obligations and financial arrangements. The claimant sought substantial payments for alleged contractual entitlements, damages, and loss of anticipated profits, relying on invoices, commercial correspondence, and various transactions as purported evidence of contractual performance.
Through a comprehensive examination and supporting evidence, Galadari demonstrated that the agreement required the claimant to deliver seven interrelated services as one integrated package, rather than as separate, independently remunerable obligations.
The team further established that the claimant lacked the necessary technical and logistical capabilities to perform the agreed services and that the alleged transactions relied upon did not constitute evidence of the performance required to substantiate its claims.
Galadari’s defence combined rigorous contractual interpretation, detailed evidentiary scrutiny, and a practical understanding of the operational and regulatory complexities of the energy industry.
A central component of the strategy involved closely examining the findings of court-appointed experts, testing the claimant’s assertions against the underlying operational requirements, and demonstrating the absence of sufficient evidence of performance.
Our team’s representation before the expert committee appointed by the Dubai Court of Appeal ultimately led to the committee reaching findings supporting the defence. Relying on those findings and the wider evidentiary record, the Court concluded that the claimant had breached its obligations and failed to establish performance of the services underpinning its financial demands.
Importantly, the Court also determined that discussions concerning invoices did not, without more, amount to acceptance of those invoices or acknowledgment of the sums allegedly due.
Galadari further successfully challenged the claimant’s demands for damages and loss of profits. The Court found that the alleged losses were premised on speculative future assumptions, unsupported by actual operational results or reliable supporting data, and that the essential legal requirements for establishing liability for damages had not been satisfied.
These findings proved decisive in defeating the claimant’s case and preserving the client’s position throughout the proceedings.
Commenting on the outcome, Bassem Pierre Daher, Senior Partner at Galadari, said, “This judgment is a powerful reflection of the sophistication of Dubai’s judiciary and its ability to navigate highly technical disputes involving complex contractual, regulatory, and operational issues within the energy sector. We are delighted to have secured this decisive victory for our client in a dispute involving claims exceeding USD 1 billion. The outcome reflects the strength of a defence built on meticulous legal analysis, a deep understanding of the underlying commercial realities, and the effective examination of complex technical evidence. I congratulate our client on this important result and commend our exceptional disputes team for its dedication, strategic approach, and unwavering commitment throughout proceedings at all three levels of the Dubai Courts.”
This landmark result underscores Galadari’s capabilities in handling sophisticated, high-value commercial disputes, particularly those involving complex contractual structures, specialist industry considerations, substantial financial exposure, and contested expert evidence.
By combining strategic litigation management with detailed factual and technical analysis, the firm successfully defended its client against the entirety of the financial claims advanced in the main action, securing favourable judgments before the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal, and ultimately the Court of Cassation.
The matter was led by senior partner Bassem Pierre Daher, with key Dubai court advocacy support from senior advocate Ebtisam Al Raessi, whose contributions were instrumental in achieving this successful outcome.
The identities of the parties and identifying case details have been withheld to preserve client confidentiality.
