A real estate developer hired a consultant to provide engineering, design and supervisiory services for the work of a contractor who was constructing a tower. The contract between the Developer and the Consultant contained an arbitration clause but the contract between the Developer and the Contractor did not.

The Developer filed a lawsuit before Dubai Courts to claim damages as a result of incomplete and faulty work because the Consultant had certified the work was complete but it was not complete and as a result the new contractor had faced problems.

The Dubai Court of First Instance accepted the case against the Contractor and dismissed the case against the Consultant for lack of jurisdiction due to the arbitration agreement in the contract between the Developer and the Consultant.