Civil Case (Haifa) 12139-12-23 Wissam Na’amneh v. Mu’taz Na’amneh

competition between a first gift transaction on time and a late sale transaction; The purchaser in the later transaction sold the rights in another transaction.  This is what the judgment will deal with.

The Persons Operating and the Transactions between the Parties

1. At the heart of the dispute between the parties is 1/12 of Plot 17, Block 19374 of the Araba lands, which is a plot of 12,712 square meters, in an agricultural designation (hereinafter: "the plot").
2. The plot was originally owned by the three deceased brothers: Sa'id, Mustafa and Ali, sons of Muhammad Na'amneh. Each of them had 4/12 parts per plot.  The plaintiffs are the sons and heirs of the late Sa'id Muhammad Na'amneh.  Ali Na'amneh, defendant 3 (hereinafter: "Ali or 'Ali ben Ali"), together with his three brothers, Mar'i, Hussein and Yahya, are the sons of Ali Muhammad Na'amneh, and they are first-degree cousins of the plaintiffs.  Mu'taz Na'amneh, defendant 1 (hereinafter: "Mu'taz"), is a second-degree cousin of the plaintiffs and Ali.  The parts of Said Muhammad Na'amneh, the plaintiffs' late father, are still registered in his name.
3. On February 15, 2020, a gift agreement was signed between the plaintiffs and Ali Ben Ali, according to which Ali granted the plaintiffs (his cousins) his full rights in the plot, which constitutes 1/12 of the plot, in an area of 1,059 square meters, as a gift (hereinafter: the "Gift Agreement"). These are rights that Ali inherited from his late father, the late Ali Na'amneh, and which were registered in the father's name at the time of the signing of the gift agreement.  According to the agreement, this is a final and irrevocable gift, and at the same time as signing it, an irrevocable power of attorney was signed in favor of the plaintiffs.

The gift transaction was reported to the authorities, but was not completed in the registry, and there was also no warning note in favor of the plaintiffs regarding Ali's rights. 

4. On December 1, 2022, a sale agreement was entered into between the three brothers: Ali, Mar'i and Hussein Na'amneh (sons of Ali Muhammad Na'amneh) on the one hand, and Mu'taz Na'amneh, who is, as stated, their second-degree cousins. In accordance with the agreement, the sellers, all together, rights holders and/or those entitled to be registered as rights holders in an area of 3,187 square meters (constituting 3/12 of the plot) granted Mu'taz their rights in the land in exchange for the sum of ILS 200,000.  Parallel to the signing of the sale agreement, an irrevocable power of attorney was signed in favor of Mu'taz.
5. The Ottoman Settlement [Old Version] 1916On February 15, 2023, a sale agreement was entered into between Mu'taz and Sa'id Khatib, defendant 2 (hereinafter: "Said"), according to which Mu'taz sold to Sa'id his rights in the plot (3,187 square meters, constituting 3/12 of the plot), for the sum of ILS 220,000. An irrevocable power of attorney in respect of this transaction was signed on December 3, 2022 (prior to the signing of the sale agreement).  The transaction was reported to the authorities, and on June 20, 2023, Sa'id was registered as the owner of 3/12 of the plot.

12-34-56-78 Chekhov v.  State of Israel, P.D.  51 (2)

6. On July 1, 2023, an (additional) sale agreement was entered into between Mu'taz and his cousins, the brothers Mustafa, Subhi and Abd al-Hadi Na'amneh, on the one hand, and Sa'id on the other, according to which 3/12 of the (additional) rights in the plot (in an area of 3,177 square meters) were sold to Sa'id for the sum of ILS 220,000. According to this agreement, Mu'taz sold an area of 1,059 square meters (1/12 of the plot) and each of the other sellers sold an area of 706 square meters (1/18 of the rights in the plot).

An irrevocable power of attorney in favor of Mu'taz in respect of this agreement was signed on November 30, 2022, and on December 5, 2022, a warning note was written in favor of Sa'id regarding the rights of the sellers (Mu'taz, Mustafa, Subhi and Abd al-Hadi).

7. On October 1, 2023, a sale agreement was entered into between Sa'id and Basel Badarneh, defendant 6 (hereinafter: "Basel"), according to which Sa'id sold Basel an area of 1,000 square meters gross out of his rights in the plot for a payment of ILS 80,000. An irrevocable power of attorney was signed on the day the agreement was signed, the transaction was reported to the authorities, and on October 3, 2023, a warning note was written in favor of Basel regarding Sa'id's ownership rights.
8. On October 2, 2023, a sale agreement was entered into between Sa'id and Samih and Ashraf Najjar, defendants 7-8, according to which Sa'id sold 2,000 square meters net to the Najar brothers for the sum of ILS 160,000. The transaction was reported and on October 5, 2023, a warning note was written in favor of the Najar brothers for 12712/2000 parts of the plot owned by Sa'id.
9. On November 9, 2023, about a month before the lawsuit was filed here, a warning note was written in favor of the plaintiffs regarding Mu'taz's rights in the plot, when he was listed as the owner of 1,059 square meters, which constitutes 1/12 of the plot.
10. To complete the picture, it should be noted that defendants 9-12 are creditors of Mu'taz, in whose favor foreclosures/notes were registered on his rights in the plot, on the dates between 25 June 2023 and 10 September 2023. Defendants 4 and 5 are attorneys who are attributed negligence in handling the sale agreements (the gift agreement and the contrary transaction).  Defendant 4 is also the representation of defendant 2 (Said) in the proceeding.
11. In the decision given on May 19, 2024, and on the basis of the reasons detailed in the body of the decision, I ordered the dismissal of the claim against defendants 10, 11 and 13. The claim against defendants 4 and 5 was dismissed, subject to the fact that no legal action would be taken with respect to the portion that is the subject of the lawsuit in accordance with the irrevocable power of attorney.  Defendant 12 left the decision on the proprietary question to the discretion of the court and agreed to remove the lien on Mu'taz's rights; Thedefendant 9 announced that if it was determined that Mu'taz had no rights to the plot, the foreclosure would be cancelled as a result.

Copied from NevoOn September 20, 2024, the lawsuit was dismissed by agreement against defendants 7-8 Samih and Ashraf Najjar, after the agreement between them and Sa'id was canceled by consent.

12. With the filing of the claim, a request for temporary relief was filed, and on April 5, 2024, after a hearing was held in the presence of the parties and written summaries were submitted on behalf of the parties, I ordered that the application be partially accepted and that an order prohibiting disposition be issued on his rights registered against Mu'taz in part, pending a decision on the claim.
13. Defendants 1 and 3, Mu'taz and Ali, chose not to file statements of defense on their behalf; the lawsuit was in fact conducted against defendants 2 and 6, Sa'id and Basel.

In order to prove the claim, an affidavit of principal witness was submitted by plaintiff 1, Wissam Naamneh (hereinafter: "the plaintiff"), and on the other hand, affidavits of principal witness affidavits were filed by defendant 2, Sa'id and defendant 6 (Basel).  In addition, on behalf of defendant 2, other defendants 1 and 3 (Ali and Mu'taz) were summoned to Matan.  All the declarants and witnesses were questioned in court.  It was stated only as a prelude to later that Ali and Mu'taz denied the contrary deal in their testimonies.