General Conditions of Dutch Legal Experts

 

Article 1. General

1. Dutch Legal Experts is a sole proprietorship registered at the Chamber of Commerce in Eindhoven under number 77591704. The statutory seat of Dutch Legal Experts is Best (the Netherlands). These general terms and conditions are not only valid for Dutch Legal Experts but also for all (legal) persons who, in any way, are or have been working for Dutch Legal Experts or for all persons engaged by Dutch Legal Experts in the performance of any assignment. The general terms and conditions also apply to all (legal)persons for whose acts or omissions Dutch Legal Experts could be held liable.
2. The possible applicability of the general terms and conditions of the client is explicitly rejected.

 

Article 2. Assignment Agreement

1. Dutch Legal Experts performs all work on the basis of an assignment agreement. The execution of assignments is exclusively for the benefit of the client (hereinafter: the client). Third parties cannot derive any rights from the work of Dutch Legal Experts and the results thereof.
2. All assignments are considered by Dutch Legal Expertsto be given exclusively to her, even if it has been agreed that an assignment will be performed by a specific person. The operation of articles 7:404 and 7:407 paragraph 2 of the Dutch Civil Code is excluded; those who work for Dutch Legal Experts are not personally bound and are not personally liable. The assignment to Dutch Legal Experts concerns an obligation of best efforts and therefore not an obligation of result.
3. Each assignment given to Dutch Legal Experts includes the authority to engage assisting persons and to accept any liability limitations of assisting persons also on behalf of the client. Dutch Legal Experts is not liable for the choice and for possible shortcomings of these assistants, except for intentional acts an/or gross negligence of Dutch Legal Experts.
4. The client is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the data and documents that the client made available to Dutch Legal Experts, even if these documents are from third parties, unless the nature of the assignment shows otherwise.
5. If communication is made with the help of electronic means such as e-mail and other forms of data traffic, Dutch Legal Experts is not liable for any damage resulting from viruses and / or other irregularities in the communication. Dutch Legal Experts is not liable for timely and correct receipt of the messages sent by her, regardless of the method of transmission.

 

Article 3. Invoicing and payment

1. The activities of Dutch Legal Experts will be invoiced on the basis of an hourly rate, unless agreed otherwise in writing between the parties. The hourly rate is the hourly rate that applies at the time of performing the work within Dutch Legal Experts. At the first request, Dutch Legal Experts will state the rates applicable at any time. Dutch Legal Experts reserves the right to adjust the rates annually.
2. Dutch Legal Experts sends invoices (afterwards) monthly and exclusively by e-mail. The invoice contains a description of the work performed. On first request, Dutch Legal Experts will send the invoices by regular mail.
3. The costs that are not included in the rates are charged directly to the client by Dutch Legal Experts. This includes (but not exclusively) travel costs, disbursements such as court fees, courier costs, translation costs and the costs of third parties engaged. Since Dutch Legal Experts is in favor of the "new legal services", no increasing percentage is applied for general office costs.
4. Dutch Legal Experts is entitled to charge an advance. Dutch Legal Experts reserves the right to make the commencement of the work conditional on the receipt of the advance. Advances are settled in the final invoice.
5. Insofar as applicable, all invoice amounts are increased with turnover tax and any other levies by the authorities.
6. The payment term is 14 days from the invoice date. Payment must be made on time in euros to a bank account number specified by Dutch Legal Experts. The invoice of Dutch Legal Experts indicates the bank account number on which the payment must be made.
7. Declarations from Dutch Legal Experts are due 14 days after the invoice date and must be paid without recourse to suspension or settlement. In the absence payment in time, the client is obliged to reimburse the costs of recovery, including a fixum of 15% of the principal sum with regard to internal administration and recovery costs and (statutory) interest as well.
8. In the event of liquidation, bankruptcy, legal debt restructuring or suspension of payment of the client, Dutch Legal Experts is entitled to claim all claims against the client immediately.

 

Article 4. Liability

1. Dutch Legal Experts is never liable for direct or indirect damage that:
   1. results from (short) oral advice for which Dutch Legal Experts has not charged the client any costs; and / or
   2. was caused by the fact that the client provided incorrect or incomplete information to Dutch Legal Experts; and / or
   3. is caused by the fact that Dutch Legal Experts has suspended work due to late payment of an invoice; and / or
   4. has arisen due to shortcomings of engaged third parties.                                                                                                                                 
2. Dutch Legal Experts is never liable for indirect damage such as consequential loss, lost profit, financial damage, missed savings and damage due to company stagnation, of any nature whatsoever.
3. Without prejudice to the foregoing, any liability of Dutch Legal Experts as a result of or in connection with the execution of the assignment is limited to the amount that is paid out in the relevant case on the basis of the professional liability insurance taken out by Dutch Legal Experts.
4. If Dutch Legal Experts does not receive any insurance payment under her liability insurancy for any reason then that liability shall be limited to a maximum of the amount received for the assignment in question. If the assignment has a duration of more than 2 months, the aforementioned liability is limited to the fee that Dutch Legal Experts has received from the client over the last 2 months, with a maximum of € 5.000,- ex VAT.
5. The client indemnifies Dutch Legal Experts against all claims from third parties that are directly or indirectly related to the execution of an assignment. Dutch Legal Experts is never liable for consequential damage.
6. Every claim for damage compensation expires one year after the start of the day, following that on which the client became aware of the damage and Dutch Legal Experts as the person liable for it at least 10 years after the occurrence of the event that may give rise to the claim.
7. Dutch Legal Experts is insured for (professional)liability 

 

Article 5. Other

1. Dutch Legal Experts has a office complaints procedure, which - through these general terms and conditions - applies to every assignment agreement entered into between the client and Dutch Legal Experts. The office complaints procedure is sent by e-mail at the request of the client.
2. Dutch Legal Experts processes personal data in the context of its business operations. Information about how Dutch Legal Experts deals with personal data can be found in the most recent version of the privacy statement on the website www.dutchlegalexperts.com.
3. Dutch Legal Experts and the client have the right to cancel the assignment in writing at any time. In that case, the client is obliged to pay all costs to Dutch Legal Experts for the work performed up to the time of termination and to reimburse any other costs, including those of any third parties involved. An assignment cannot be terminated retroactively.
4. Dutch Legal Experts is authorized to suspend the fulfillment of all its obligations until the moment that all due and payable claims of Dutch Legal Experts against the client have been fully settled.
5. Dutch Legal Experts reserves all copyrights with regard to the mental products that she uses or has used in the context of the execution of the agreement with the client, insofar as rights may exist or may be vested in those products in a legal sense. The client is expressly prohibited from reproducing, disclosing or exploiting those products (whether or not with the involvement of third parties).
6. If Dutch Legal Experts is unable to meet its obligations under the agreement, or not timely or properly as a result of a non-attributable cause, those obligations will be suspended until the moment that the contractor is still able to fulfill them in the agreed manner. In that case, the client has the right to cancel the agreement in whole or in part and with immediate effect in writing. If Dutch Legal Experts has already partially met its obligations under the agreement, or can only partially meet these obligations, it is entitled to invoice the work already carried out separately and the client will pay this invoice as if it were a separate agreement.
7. The provisions of an agreement and the general terms and conditions that are intended to remain in force after the assignment or agreement will, logically, also continue to apply to the parties after the assignment or agreement has expired.
8. All claims of the client against Dutch Legal Experts (on whatever grounds) expire in any case after 1 year after the client has become aware of or could reasonably have become aware of the existence of these claims.
9. All orders or agreements and any legal relationships are governed exclusively by Dutch law and only the Dutch courts are competent to hear any disputes.
10. Dutch Legal Experts is authorized to unilaterally change these general terms and conditions. In the event of amended general terms and conditions, these immediately apply to all new and current assignments.
11. These conditions have been drawn up in the Dutch language. In the event of any difference in content, scope or interpretation, the Dutch text will prevail.
12. The most current version of the general terms and conditions can be found on the website of Dutch Legal Experts (www.dutchlegalexperts.com).

Version: 31 of March 2021