Commercial Litigation

SPECIAL REGULATION ON FRANCHISE AGREEMENTS PROPOSED: MORE PROTECTION FOR FRANCHISEES

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On 12 December, a draft legislative proposal (“proposal“) was published containing a special regulation on franchise agreements. Until now, there have been no special regulations regarding franchise agreements. The Explanatory Memorandum mentions that franchisees believe that franchisors have a more dominant position within their relationship. According to franchisees, this causes unreasonable and undesirable situations. The Dutch Franchise Code, a means … Read more

Rotterdam District Court rules on jurisdiction in Petrobras collective action

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On 19 September 2018, Rotterdam District Court ruled (ECLI:NL:RBROT:2018:7852) that it has jurisdiction to hear claims against Petrobras and others in a collective action concerning an alleged bribery scheme. However, the Court decided that it did not have jurisdiction for a number of claims against non-Dutch defendants. The Court also denied a request to stay the proceedings until a decision in … Read more

Netherlands Commercial Court to open its doors in early 2019

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On 11 December 2018, the Senate approved the bill for the new international trade chamber of the Amsterdam District Court, known as the Netherlands Commercial Court (NCC), and the Netherlands Commercial Court of Appeal (NCCA). All the political groups supported the bill, despite previously expressing concerns about the accessibility of the English-language court for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the … Read more

Amsterdam Court of Appeal declared €1.3 billion Fortis collective settlement binding – will the critical observations of the Court have an impact on future use of the WCAM?

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Introduction and background of the case On 13 July 2018, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal approved the collective settlement reached in the Dutch mass claims litigation between Ageas (Fortis’ legal successor) and several commercial and non-profit claimant organisations acting on behalf of shareholders of the former Dutch/Belgian banking and insurance group Fortis. Therewith, the settlement agreement becomes binding upon all … Read more

A redundancy payment scheme for a bank manager and court’s obligation to apply statutory provisions ex officio

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What if an agreement between parties is in violation of a statutory provision, but the parties do not raise this point in proceedings? Should the court ascertain this violation ex officio and determine whether the contract is void or valid nonetheless (which may be the case under Dutch contract law)? This question was recently submitted to the Dutch Supreme Court … Read more

Stibbe Litigators participate in consultation draft bill to modernise the law of evidence

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Members of Stibbe’s Commercial Litigation practice group have participated in the public consultation of a draft bill to modernise and simplify the law of evidence in civil procedure. An overview of the draft proposal was provided previously on this blog by Petra Vos and Daan Barbiers. The main goal of the draft bill is to enhance truth seeking in civil … Read more

A proposal to fundamentally change the law on evidence in Dutch civil procedure

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Introduction On 31 May 2018 Dutch Minister Dekker published a draft bill for consultation that primarily aims to modernise and simplify the law of evidence within Dutch civil procedure. The draft bill draws heavily on a report dated 10 April 2017 from the expert group on the modernisation of law of evidence. The Dutch Bar Association has since published an … Read more

Can an SPV be misled before it exists?

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Transactions are regularly structured through special purpose vehicles (SPVs). An SPV is often established at the end of the negotiations, just before signing the agreement. The other party to the agreement provides information and raises certain expectations during the negotiations. The individuals negotiating for the SPV do not necessarily become officers of the SPV once it is established. Examples of … Read more

Ongoing commercial transactions entered into before 1 July 2017 now subject to new 60 day payment term limit

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1.      Background: Statutory commercial interest Sixteen years ago, a provision on statutory interest in commercial agreements was introduced in article 6:119a Dutch Civil Code (DCC) to first implement Directive 2000/35/EC and subsequently Directive 2011/7/EU. These Directives were introduced to ensure compliance and prevent payment delays in commercial transactions. If a party to a commercial transaction exceeds a payment … Read more

Netherlands Commercial Court coming soon?

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On 8 March 2018, the bill concerning the Netherlands Commercial Court was passed by the House of Representatives. However, the court cannot start until the Senate has also approved the bill. The chairman of the Council for the Judiciary, Frits Bakker, has stated that the Council is pleased that the bill has been passed by the House of Representatives and … Read more