Supreme Court nuances the consequences of a wrongful invocation of the right of suspension

In its decision of 4 November 2016, ECLI:NL:HR:2016:2517 (CIA / Heredium), the Supreme Court ruled that if – in hindsight – the right of suspension appears to have been invoked wrongfully, the debtor cannot be considered to be in default automatically. Whether a party was entitled to invoke a right of suspension depends on the interpretation of the agreement, taking … Read more

District Court of Limburg ruled that damages claims in the Dutch prestressing steel case are time-barred

On 16 November 2016, the District Court of Limburg (“District Court“) rendered a final judgment in the Dutch prestressing steel case (ECLI:NL:RBLIM:2016:9897). The District Court ruled that the damages claims are time-barred under German law and therefore dismissed all claims against the defendant prestressing steel producers who appeared in the proceedings and filed defences including, inter alia, a defence of … Read more

Universal Music: Locating purely financial damage

Case C-12/15 of 16 June 2016, ECLI:EU:C:2016:449, Universal Music International Holding BV v Michael Tétreault Schilling and Others On 16 June 2016, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ“) ruled that in tort cases, in the absence of other connecting factors, jurisdiction cannot be attributed to the court of the Member State where purely financial damage occurred. International jurisdiction in civil … Read more

Update on changes in antitrust damages claims legislation in the Netherlands

On 7 June 2016,  a legislative proposal to enact the EU Antitrust Damages Directive (the “Proposal“) was submitted to the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer). The Proposal serves to implement the Damages Directive in various sections of the Dutch Civil Code (“DCC“) and the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure (“DCCP“). EU Member States must implement the Damages Directive by 26 … Read more

Disclosure of audit files: a balancing exercise between confidentiality and the public interest to uncover the truth

Amsterdam Court of Appeal, 5 January 2016, ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2016:30 (Colima c.s./PwC) On 5 January 2016, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled that under circumstances, the public interest to uncover the truth outweighs the confidentiality duty of an auditor towards his client in case of a claim for disclosure of records. In the case at issue, the Court of Appeal ordered that … Read more