Old cheque could lead case to check mate

A man sentenced to six months jail for a Dh1 million bounced cheque will have his case reheard because the incident is more than five years old.

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ABU DHABI // A legal fight over a Dh1 million cheque written in 1997 may be timed out because it was drawn up so long ago.

The man who wrote the cheque was sentenced to six months in jail, but the Appeals Court is now re-examining the case on the orders of the Cassation Court.

The man bought a piece of land from a woman in 1997, paying her Dh350,000 in cash and writing her a cheque for Dh1million.

However, when the woman tried to cash the cheque it bounced. The man was sentenced to six months in jail and ordered to pay Dh1m plus compensation. When he paid this amount he asked to be cleared. The case then went to the cassation court, which rejected the previous verdicts because such cases expire after five years from the cheque date.

Now, in the appeals court, the woman's lawyer said that while it was worth Dh1m in 1997, it is now worth more than Dh12m. Additionally, he said, the man sold the property for Dh8m.

Despite this, the lawyer said the woman would be willing to pay the man back Dh1m and more if he would agree to register the land under her name.

The appeals judge reminded both sides that the cassation court had ruled the legal duration of the cheque had expired before adjourning the case to August 9.