When does a reason given for termination of an agreement qualify as a compelling ground? That was the central question in the Dutch Supreme Court’s decision of 29 March 2019 (ECLI:NL:HR:2019:446). Depending on the nature of the agreement and the circumstances of the case, termination may only take place under certain conditions, e.g. only on compelling grounds. The Dutch Civil … Read more
Introduction Due to environmental damage as a result of oil extraction in the Ecuadorian Amazon, oil company Chevron was ordered to pay USD 8.6 billion to Ecuadorian citizens. In order to claim release of liability, Chevron and Texaco initiated arbitration proceedings against Ecuador. Arbitral awards ordered Ecuador to prevent enforcement of the Ecuadorian judgment, leaving the Ecuadorian plaintiffs temporarily unable … Read more
In this case, the Court considered that the Portuguese limitation rules (a short limitation period that may start before the victim knows who is liable and that cannot be suspended during the authority’s investigation) made it practically impossible or excessively difficult to obtain compensation, and should therefore be set aside. The Court of Justice clarified these issues when answering preliminary … Read more
The knowledge of a person who in fact runs a company can be attributed to the company if the sole director and shareholder is a ‘straw man’, the Supreme Court confirmed in a judgment of 29 March 2019. The rules by the Supreme Court are not revolutionary or even new. But circumstances essential for the attribution of knowledge are ignored. … Read more
Introduction On 22 March 2019, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled (ECLI:NL:HR:2019:412) that the strict liability for buildings (opstalaansprakelijkheid) is not linked to a specific damaging act but to a damaging condition, as referred to in section 6:174 DCC. Therefore, there is no reason to regard a damaging act as an ‘event that caused damage’ as referred to in section 3:310 … Read more
Imagine that a debtor voluntarily concludes a transaction with a third party where he knows (or should know) that it hinders the creditor’s possibilities of collecting the debt. In civil law countries, a creditor can invoke the nullification of that legal act by means of a so-called actio pauliana. This raises the question of which court has jurisdiction in the … Read more
On 26 March 2019 the European Parliament approved an amended version of the European Commission’s proposal for a Directive on representative actions for the protection of collective interests of consumers, following a debate on 25 March 2019. The Directive will become law once the Council and the European Parliament reach an agreement on the European Commission’s proposal. The Council has … Read more
On 4 March 2019, an amended version of the Dutch “Claimcode” was published. The Claimcode is an instrument of self-regulation, created by parties who are active on the claims market. Like the 2011 original, the 2019 Claimcode contains guidelines for the governance of organizations that pursue collective claims and settlements, aiming to ensure that claim organizations put the interests of … Read more
On 19 March 2019, the Dutch Senate approved the legislative proposal that introduces collective actions for damages under article 3:305a of the Dutch Civil Code (DCC). As the legislative proposal did not give rise to any debate in the Senate, it was passed without a vote. The legislative proposal will have a significant impact on the litigation climate in the … Read more
On 14 March the European Court of Justice issued a landmark judgment in the Skanska case. In this ruling, the Court of Justice held that parent companies can be held liable for the damage caused by a competition infringement committed by their subsidiary if the parent company (that holds all the shares in the subsidiary) has dissolved the subsidiary but continued … Read more