Dabboussi v Akra

The case of Dabboussi v Akra was heard by the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The plaintiff, Dabboussi, and the defendant, Akra, had entered into an oral agreement to jointly establish and operate two restaurants. A dispute arose over the obligations of the parties to meet the establishment and running expenses of the restaurant businesses. The parties subsequently agreed to participate in an Islamic Mediation process, which resulted in an oral agreement to settle their dispute. However, conflicting versions of this settlement agreement emerged.

The court was required to determine the terms of the settlement agreement and the obligations of the parties under it. The central issue was the quality and weight to be given to the evidence of spoken words, particularly in light of the absence of corroborative evidence from a lay person present during the agreement. The court also had to assess the credibility of the evidence provided by the Imam who was present when the agreement was made.

The court found that the plaintiff's evidence was more credible and reliable. It concluded that the parties had reached an agreement to settle the dispute, and that the defendant was obligated to pay the plaintiff a specified sum. The court awarded judgment to the plaintiff and ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiff's costs. The court found that the evidence of the Imam was sufficient to establish the terms of the settlement agreement, and that the absence of evidence from the lay person did not undermine the reliability of the Imam's evidence.