Driver Ordered to Pay BD5,000 Over Restaurant Crash

TDT | Manama

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A restaurant owner has won BD5,000 after an appeal court found that a driver whose car smashed into the front of the business was liable for the damage and the months-long disruption that followed.

The court overturned an earlier ruling that had dismissed the claim, ordering the driver to pay material and moral damages to the restaurant owner, along with court costs for both stages of the case, two per cent yearly legal interest from the date of the claim until full payment, and lawyers’ fees.

The case began when the woman drove into the restaurant frontage, breaking the glass and damaging the entrance. The vehicle was insured by another defendant in the case.

Lawyer Dr Nada Al Riyashi, who acted for the claimants, said the crash had left the premises damaged and disrupted the running of the restaurant. The claimants sought compensation for physical damage to the shopfront, moral harm, lost earnings, and losses tied to the sale of the business.

The first claimant owned the restaurant when the crash took place. Ownership later passed to the second claimant. An expert instructed by the first and second claimants found that the accident had caused material damage to the premises.

The lower court had thrown out the case and ordered the claimants to pay costs and lawyers’ fees. It found that the first claimant had no right to moral damages after selling the restaurant to the second claimant.

For the second claimant, the court found that the delay in repairs was not caused by the driver’s fault, but by the need to import the aluminium used for the frontage. It also found no proof in the papers that the damage had caused the restaurant to suffer financial losses.

The claimants appealed, arguing that the ruling had misread the law and the facts. They said the frontage remained broken for 10 months and that the driver delayed the repair work.

They also said aluminium brought after six months did not match the required specifications, leaving the owner to reject its use because it would have voided the warranty on the whole frontage.

Dr Al Riyashi argued under the Civil Code’s compensation provisions that the insured vehicle had caused the damage and that the insurer bore liability for harm caused by the crash.

She said the driver had waited months before bringing unsuitable aluminium, which left the business suffering harm beyond the broken frontage itself, as the entrance remained damaged and the restaurant’s work was affected.

The appeal court accepted that argument, cancelled the lower court’s ruling and ordered BD5,000 in compensation for the second claimant.