Terms and Conditions

1. These general terms and conditions apply to all work and engagements, including additional engagements and subsequent engagements, that Dommerholt Advocaten N.V. (hereinafter ‘Dommerholt Advocaten’) performs for the client, even if their applicability is not referred to again. The client is the awarder of the contract to Dommerholt Advocaten. Agreements made with the client that deviate from these terms and conditions take precedence. These terms and conditions have been drawn up in Dutch, German and English. In the event of a difference in content and/or purport, the Dutch text will prevail.
2. These terms and conditions are also stipulated for the benefit of employees of Dommerholt Advocaten and legal and other persons and other third parties involved in carrying out the engagement. These employees, natural and legal persons and third parties may rely on these terms and conditions at all times and do so free of charge pursuant to the third-party clause as referred to in Book 6, Section 253 of the Dutch Civil Code (in Dutch: Burgerlijk Wetboek).
3. All engagements are considered to have been given exclusively to Dommerholt Advocaten and accepted by them, even if the intention is that an engagement will be performed by a certain person. The effects of Book 7 Sections 404 407 subsection 2 and  409 of the Dutch Civil Code are excluded. By giving the engagement to Dommerholt Advocaten, the client waives the right to hold any persons employed by or associated with Dommerholt Advocaten liable on the basis of an attributable failure or a wrongful act for anything that they do or fail to do while performing an assignment. Persons ‘associated with’ and/or ‘employed by’ Dommerholt Advocaten means any natural or legal person who is or was in the service of Dommerholt Advocaten or acting on their behalf now or in the past, either as an employee or in any other capacity.
4. The engagement by the client gives Dommerholt Advocaten the right to conclude contracts with third parties such as bailiffs, couriers etc. The client authorises Dommerholt Advocaten to accept limitations of liability, if any, on behalf of the client as well. Dommerholt Advocaten will be liable only to the extent that the third party is liable to Dommerholt Advocaten and has compensated Dommerholt Advocaten for the damage and/or loss.
5. Dommerholt Advocaten is obliged by legislation and regulations to establish the identity of the client. Dommerholt Advocaten can be obliged by law to report unusual transactions of the client to the authorities without informing the client thereof.
6. The fee of Dommerholt Advocaten comprises the hours worked at the hourly rates of the lawyers who perform the engagement. A 6% administrative surcharge is added to the total, along with any other expenses such as court registry fees and bailiff’s fees. All rates and costs are exclusive of BTW (Dutch VAT). Hourly rates are set according to the experience and expertise of the person carrying out the work. The rates are indexed annually on 1 January in line with the inflation figures published by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) (using their "all households" series).
7. The client will receive a monthly invoice for the work carried out for them by Dommerholt Advocaten, unless otherwise agreed. The invoice must be paid within 14 days. After 14 days, 1% interest will be charged per month, without notice of default being required. Dommerholt Advocaten can charge an advance payment for work and/or expenses. If payment is not made, the work activities to be performed can be suspended, after Dommerholt Advocaten has given a warning that it will do so.
8. Dommerholt Advocaten has taken out professional liability insurance that complies with the rules prescribed by the Netherlands Bar. If an event occurs during the performance of an engagement for which Dommerholt Advocaten can be held liable, the liability will be limited to the amount paid out under the professional liability insurance policy in the case in question, plus the excess that is payable by Dommerholt Advocaten.
9. If (in connection with the performance of an engagement or otherwise) damage or injury for which Dommerholt Advocaten can be held liable is caused to persons or items of property, such liability will be limited to the amount paid out under the professional liability insurance policy in the case in question, plus the excess that is payable by Dommerholt Advocaten.
10. If one of the above-mentioned insurance policies does not pay out and/or in the event of Dommerholt Advocaten not being entitled to rely on articles 8 and/or 9, the liability of Dommerholt Advocaten will in any event be limited to twice the fee that the client has paid for the engagement in question during the 12 months prior to the event, subject to a maximum of €50,000 (exclusive of BTW).
11. All claims and other powers of the client or third parties that ensue from or are connected with the performance of and acceptance by Dommerholt Advocaten of an engagement will lapse if proceedings are brought at the competent court and the professional error or shortcoming on the part of Dommerholt Advocaten has not been discovered or reasonably could have been discovered. The foregoing will not apply to a client who is a natural person and is not acting in the running of a company or practice of a profession. All claims and other powers will lapse in any event once two years have passed since the work activities were performed in connection with the engagement.
12. Dommerholt Advocaten is the data controller as defined in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Dommerholt Advocaten handles personal data with due care. Read our privacy policy
13. The client agrees that Dommerholt Advocaten can use digital communication and data storage services for communication, regardless of whether they are provided by third parties. Dommerholt Advocaten cannot be held liable for damage and/or loss arising from the use of such services.
14. The legal relationship between Dommerholt Advocaten and the client is subject to the laws of the Netherlands. Our complaints procedure, which can be found at nl/klachtenregeling, is also applicable. The bye-laws of the Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession are also applicable. These can be consulted via www.advocatenorde.nl and www.degeschillencommissie.nl.
15. Dommerholt Advocaten and the client will bring any disputes before the competent court in Zwolle, unless one of the parties chooses to start proceedings at the Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession (in Dutch: Geschillencommissie Advocatuur).

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