DCC 228, 249/2008

This case involved a non-negotiable cheque which had been accepted for clearance but money had not been deposited in the plaintiff's account. Key issues included the special status of non-negotiable cheques and the time bar for litigation in such cases.

Background

A Respondent in both Cassation Appeals was a banking client, who had filed a Court of Cassation suit before the Dubai Courts under roll (865/2006) against a bank, who was also a Respondent in the Second Cassation Appeal (249/2008), seeking compensation of 760000 AED claiming that the amount represented the amount of money for three cheques which were presented by the Plaintiff to the Defendant bank for clearance and deposit, which after having been accepted and approved - were never actually cleared to the bank account of the Plaintiff.

The cheques had been stamped as “Non-Negotiable - AIC Payee Only”. The Plaintiff, having presented the cheques to its bank, the Defendant, was surprised to discover that although the bank had accepted the cheques and had cleared them with the issuing banks, it failed to deposit the cleared amount of the cheques into the Plaintiff's account.