General Terms and Conditions Van Bavel Advocaten

1. Application of these terms

1.1 Van Bavel Advocaten is a Dutch private company with limited liability, practicing the profession of attorney-at-law (Dutch: “Advocaat”). As the occasion arises, Van Bavel Advocaten collaborates with the sole proprietorship mr. I.R. Rigter. Therefore, a collaborative arrangement with mr. I.R. Rigter has been agreed upon. Mr. I.R. Rigter carries out his activities at his own expense and risk, in the name of Van Bavel Advocaten.

1.2 These terms shall apply to all – and subsequent – instructions given to Van Bavel Advocaten, as well as to the legal relationships arising from or in connection with these instructions.

1.3 These terms have also been stipulated for those (legal) entities and third parties, that are, either directly or indirectly, involved in any way in the services provided by Van Bavel Advocaten.

2. Assignment

2.1 All assignments are considered to be given to and accepted by Van Bavel Advocaten, even if it was the explicit or tacit intention that the assignment was to be carried out by a particular person. Articles 7:404 and 7:407 paragraph 2 of the Dutch Civil Code (Dutch: “Burgerlijk Wetboek”) are excluded from the agreement between Van Bavel Advocaten and the client.

2.2 The client will indemnify Van Bavel Advocaten against any and all claims from third parties, including (without limitation) reasonable costs of legal assistance, connected in any way with the services provided by Van Bavel Advocaten to the client, unless such claims are a result from gross negligence or intent of Van Bavel Advocaten.

3. Fees and Disbursements

3.1 Costs of the services provided by Van Bavel Advocaten include fees, disbursements and VAT.

3.2 Unless otherwise expressly agreed, the fees will be calculated by reference to the time spent by each of our fee earners on the matter, and their relevant hourly rates on the matter.

3.3 Our hourly rates will be calculated by reference to the basic hourly rate, which is reviewed by Van Bavel Advocaten regularly; this basic hourly rate will be multiplied by a factor, which depends on the expertise or specialist knowledge of the fee earner involved, the value of the property or subject matter and the speed at which action must be taken.

3.4 Unless otherwise expressly agreed, Van Bavel Advocaten is entitled to review the abovementioned basic hourly rates, even during the course of an assignment.

3.5 If the basic hourly rate is raised by a single increase of 10% or more, or within 3 months of the commencement of an assignment, the client may terminate the assignment. This right shall abandon on the expiration of the payment term of the first invoice including the rate increase.

3.6 Disbursements are costs actually incurred by Van Bavel Advocaten on behalf of the client (such as court fees, bailiff’s expenses, travel expenses, costs for obtaining extracts etc.).

3.7 In cases in which expressly agreed that legal aid will be provided by means of subsidized legal aid, the fee will be determined on the basis of any personal income-related contribution determined by the Legal Aid Board (Dutch: “Raad voor Rechtsbijstand”).

3.8 In cases in which legal aid has been provided on the basis of subsidized legal aid, and the case has ended with an final and conclusive conviction of the litigant, the income and assets of the litigant are assessed by the Legal Aid Board. If it turns out that the income and/or assets are above the applicable income and asset limits of the Legal Aid Act (Dutch: “Wet op de rechtsbijstand”), the costs of legal aid can be recovered from the litigant, as determined in Article 43 paragraph 3 of the Legal Aid Act.

4. Billing arrangements

4.1 The services provided and disbursements will be charged at the end of each month.

4.2 All payments will be due within 14 days.

4.3 If the invoice is not paid within the payment term, statutory interest will be due.

4.4 In case of non-payment, even after demand for payment, all (extra-) judicial collection costs will be due, which costs amount to at least 15% of the invoice, and shall not be less than € 50.

4.5 If any invoice or advance payment, is not paid within the payment term, Van Bavel Advocaten will be entitled to suspend or terminate all services after (prior) notification to the client. Van Bavel Advocaten shall not be liable for any damages as a consequence of this suspension or termination of services.

5. Advance payment

Van Bavel Advocaten has the right to require a fee in advance before commencing the assignment. Advanced fees will be set off against any and all amounts owed by the client to Van Bavel Advocaten either during or if deemed necessary on completion of the assignment.

6. Liability

6.1 Van Bavel Advocaten has arranged professional liability insurance for amounts that exceed the amounts prescribed by the Netherlands Bar Association (“Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten”).

6.2 Any liability shall be limited to the amount, which is paid out under the relevant contract of insurance in the matter concerned, plus the amount of the excess, which under this contract of insurance in the matter concerned is borne by Van Bavel Advocaten. If payment under the aforesaid insurance for whatever reason will not take place, any liability shall be limited to an amount equal to two times the fee, which has been charged in the matter concerned in the twelve months before the liability causing event, with a maximum of € 75.000.

6.3 If the assignment requires the engagement by Van Bavel Advocate of any (legal) entity or third party, which does not form part of Van Bavel Advocaten, to provide services in connection with the matter concerned, Van Bavel Advocaten shall not be liable for any acts or omissions of such (legal) entity or third party.

6.4 (Legal) entities or third parties engaged in connection with the matter concerned may want to limit their liability. All instructions given to Van Bavel Advocaten imply the right to accept such a limitation of liability on behalf of the client.

6.5 If in connection with the matter concerned or otherwise any damage is caused to objects or persons Van Bavel Advocaten is liable for, such a liability will be limited to the amount, which is paid out under the relevant contract of insurance in the matter concerned, plus the amount of the excess, which under this contract of insurance in the matter concerned is borne by Van Bavel Advocaten.

6.6 Without prejudice to the provision of article 6:89 of the Dutch Civil Code (“Burgerlijk Wetboek”) any claim for damages will be considered abandoned if this claim has not been brought before the competent court within one year after the facts on which the claim is based are known or could have reasonably been known.

7. Storage of documents

Client files will be stored for at least five years, after which Van Bavel Advocaten is entitled to dispose of the file.

8. Law and Jurisdiction

8.1 The legal relationship between Van Bavel Advocaten and her clients shall be subject to and governed by the Laws of the Netherlands.

8.2 Any dispute between Van Bavel Advocaten and a client shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Netherlands.

8.3 These terms are also available in Dutch. In case of any dispute on the contents or meaning, the Dutch text shall prevail.

These General Terms and Conditions will be sent free of charge on request and have been published on the website www.vanbaveladvocaten.nl.