September 25, 2025 court of first instance - Orders
Claim No: CFI 078/2025
THE DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE COURTS
IN THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
BETWEEN
CAPITAL VENTURES FZCO
Claimant
and
GFH PARTNERS MANRRE REIT (CEIC) PLC
Defendant
ORDER WITH REASONS OF H.E. JUSTICE MAHA AL MHEIRI
UPON the order of H.E. Justice Maha Al Mheiri dated 17 September 2025 granting the Defendant extension of time to file its written evidence in response to the Claimant’s Pre-Action Disclosure Application commenced by way of a Part 8 Claim Form (the “Part 8 Claim”
AND UPON the Defendant’s letter application dated 24 September 2025 seeking a further extension of time to file and serve its evidence in response to Part 8 Claim (the “Letter Application”)
AND UPON the Defendant’s Application No. CFI-078-2025/2 dated 23 September 2025, seeking the same relief as sought in the Letter Application (the “Part 23 Application”)
AND UPON the Defendant’s confirmation that it intends to pursue the Letter Application and not the Part 23 Application
AND UPON the Claimant’s evidence in answer dated 23 September 2025
AND UPON the Defendant’s evidence in reply dated 24 September 2025
AND UPON reviewing the parties’ email correspondence
AND UPON the Defendant’s filing of its written evidence in response to the Part 8 Claim on 24 September 2025
AND UPON reviewing the case file and documents recorded therein
AND PURSUANT TO the Rules of the DIFC Courts (the “RDC”)
AND UPON CONSIDERING Practice Direction No. 2 of 2019 – DIFC Courts Fees Amendment
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
1. The Part 23 Application is dismissed.
2. The Letter Application is granted.
3. The time for the Defendant to file and serve its written evidence in response to the Part 8 Claim shall be extended to 4pm on Wednesday, 24 September 2025.
4. The Claimant shall file and serve any evidence in reply by no later than 4pm on Monday, 8 October 2025.
5. Pursuant to Practice Direction No. 2 of 2019, the Defendant shall pay a late filing fee of USD 400, to be paid into Court within 7 days of the date of this Order.
6. There shall be no order as to costs.
Issued by:
Delvin Sumo
Assistant Registrar
Date of issue: 25 September 2025
At: 9am
SCHEDULE OF REASONS
1. The Defendant has provided sufficient justification for a short extension of time due to challenges with witness availability and the need to ensure accuracy and completeness of its evidence.
2. The Court accepts that the delay is minor (48 hours), that no hearing date has been fixed, and that no prejudice is likely to be caused to the Claimant by the requested extension.
3. However, the Defendant failed to comply with the Court’s timetable set out in the Order of 17 September 2025, and did not seek the Claimant’s consent before approaching the Court. This is contrary to the spirit of RDC 23.79 and the overriding objective (RDC 1.6).
4. In accordance with Practice Direction No. 2 of 2019, a late filing fee of USD 200 per day is applicable for documents filed outside the time prescribed by Rule, Direction, or Court Order. The Defendant is therefore sanctioned in the sum of USD 400.