Appellate Division dismisses Chedid appeal against ex staff

WALID SLAIBY

DOHA

QATAR International Court and Dispute Resolution Center (QICDR) has dismissed the compensation and damage claim of an insurance company against its formal employee, who was accused of breach of contract, following a three-day trial held recently. 

Chedid & Associates Qatar LLC had claimed a compensation of QR104,400 from its ex-sales manager Saeed Bou Ayash allegedly for soliciting the clients of the company to his new employer. The court also rejected Chedid's damage claim for QR13,380 from the defendant.

The court presided over by Justices Douglas Cullen, Bruce Robertson and Hassan al Sayed observed that the accused Bou Ayash did not breach the non-competition term of the contract signed between him and Chedid as the term started on April 2, 2013 after the resignation of Bou Ayash, who later became the general manager of another insurance company.

Chedid had alleged that Bou Ayash was in breach of the non-competition clause contained within his contract of employment after, subsequent to his resignation, he went to work for a competing company and contracted with clients who had previously contracted with Chedid.

The defendant's lawyer based his argument on Article 20 of the Qatar Financial Center Employment Regulations which states that the non-competition clauses in the contracts must not constitute an unreasonable restraint on trade.

According to the written judgment issued by the court, the non-competition term of the contract does not measure up to what is required by Article 20.

"The claimant couldn't assert it had the right to protect a business connection with clients who had been introduced to it by the defendant", said the judgment."Besides, the evidence relied on by the claimant's lawyer in support of his case on Article 20 was extremely weak." 

The court also dismissed a counterclaim filed by the defendant requesting from the claimant a bonus of QR52,000 but allowed his another claim for QR200 to meet bank charges incurred in the process. The Court observed that Chedid withheld Bou Ayash's salary"without reasons, authority or justification" resulting in him incurring bank charges. 

Commenting on the judgment, defendant's counsel Roger Kennell, Partner at Brown Rudnick LLP, told Qatar Tribune,"The Court has held that the defendant was a credible witness and that he was right. It is pleasing that the court has recognised that the defendant was forced to sign various documents as a result of threats made by the claimant."

http://www.qatar-tribune.com/viewnews.aspx?n=DD0F4BC7-5697-42A8-8911-EAB084619E07&d=20140930

The full text of the judgment will be made available on the QICDRC’s website- www.qicdrc.com.qa. Any queries regarding the Court should be directed to the Registrar, Mr. Christopher Grout, on Registrar@qicdrc.com.qa