This case involved a contract to supply a Saudi Arabian company with services in Saudi Arabia which had not been honoured. The key issue was whether the DIFC had jurisdiction to hear the case. Having a meeting on the contract in the DIFC and signing it there did not automatically put the case within the remit of the DIFC jurisdictional gateways. The fact that the DIFC had accepted the case via its online filing system also did not mean it had jurisdiction as jurisdictional checks were not carried out by this system and were expected to have been carried out by the litigant.

Mr Idan was the Managing Director of the Isandro Hospitality Solutions and Mr Ilaria was a Saudi national who was a customer of that company.

The parties entered into an agreement on 7 August 2017, to develop the Standard Operating Procedure manuals for Indigo’s Pizza. The Claimant put together a structured timeline to produce the manual, a training manual, commercial material, legal franchise documentation, interior design and brand identity manuals and recipe book documentation for Ilaria.