Employee seeks AED 100,000 in compensation after being accused of attempting to harm herself

The Abu Dhabi Family, Civil and Administrative Claims Court has ruled to reject a compensation claim filed by an employee at a private school against the school and an administrative official therein, after the latter accused her in an official report of attempting to harm herself, which led to her arrest and placement in the behavioral sciences wing for a week.

The teacher filed a lawsuit against the school and the official, demanding that they be jointly and severally obligated to pay her 100,000 dirhams in compensation for the material and moral damages she suffered, and to oblige them to pay the fees, expenses and attorney fees, noting that under a fixed-term employment contract, she joined the first defendant with a monthly salary, but that the second defendant (the administrator) deliberately harassed her during work, and tried to stop her from working without justification, and threatened to dismiss her from work.

The plaintiff indicated that when she refused to sign the termination paper, the second defendant, without any preamble, filed a malicious report falsely accusing her of trying to harm herself, but the Public Prosecution issued its decision to dismiss the criminal case for lack of a crime.

She explained that as a result of the report filed by the second defendant, she was arrested, handcuffed in front of the staff and students, and was placed in the behavioral sciences wing for a week.

The plaintiff submitted as evidence for her claim the decision to refer the dispute from the Alternative Dispute Resolution Department, the decision to close the misdemeanor, and a medical report. The defendants’ attorney submitted a response memorandum in which he requested that the claim be dismissed for lack of entitlement, validity, and proof, with the plaintiff being obligated to pay the fees, expenses, and attorney’s fees.

For its part, the court stated in the grounds of its ruling that, according to the legal provision, compensation is estimated according to the extent of the damage, and damage includes the loss suffered by the injured party and the gain he has missed. It is also established that any damage to others obligates its perpetrator to guarantee the damage, noting that the basis for the plaintiff’s entitlement to the compensation demanded by her is the commission of an error against the first and second defendants, and the existence of a causal relationship between the result and the error.

The court confirmed that the plaintiff, throughout the stages of her appearance in the case, did not submit valid evidence that the first and second defendants had plotted against her, as they had filed a malicious report against her, claiming that she was trying to harm herself. What supports this view is that the malicious images as depicted by the plaintiff in her lawsuit are not supported by anything in the case papers, especially since the decision issued by the Public Prosecution entitled “Order to Dismiss Misdemeanors” was completely devoid of any reference to the presence of maliciousness, and that it concluded to dismiss the criminal case due to the absence of a felony and the lack of proof that the plaintiff intended to take her life.

The plaintiff has failed to prove what justifies obligating the defendants to compensate her, and her request for compensation becomes devoid of its factual and legal basis.

The court ruled to dismiss the lawsuit and oblige the plaintiff to pay its fees and expenses.

• The plaintiff did not provide valid evidence that the first and second defendants had plotted against her.