In these general terms and conditions, “Contractor” means Bergh Stoop & Sanders N.V. Bergh Stoop & Sanders N.V. also acts under the name Bergh Stoop & Sanders Advocaten. Berg Stoop & Sanders N.V. has its registered office in Amsterdam and is registered in the Trade Register of the Chamber of Commerce under number 34350567.
These general terms and conditions apply to all assignments accepted by the Contractor and to all relationships between the Contractor and its clients (“Client”). Assignments to the Contractor and/or its affiliated persons are exclusively accepted and performed by the Contractor subject to the exclusion of Articles 7:404 and 7:407(2) of the Dutch Civil Code.
- Any and all liability of the Contractor and persons affiliated with it is limited to the amount payable in the relevant matter under the professional liability insurance, to be increased by the amount of the deductible (eigen risico) applicable in the relevant matter. If and in so far as no payment is made under the applicable insurance and/or the liability is not covered by the applicable insurance, any and all liability is limited to an amount of EUR 50,000 or, if the amount of fees charged in the relevant matter is higher, to a maximum amount of EUR 100,000. In these general terms and conditions, “affiliated persons” means: any subordinate, employee (whether or not hired), advisor, partner, and (indirect) director and/or shareholder of the Contractor.
- Any claim from the Client for damages lapses if the Contractor has not been informed of the claim in writing within one year after the discovery of the event or circumstance that gives or may give rise to the liability.
- If possible, when engaging third parties the Contractor will consult with the Client in advance and will in any event observe due care in their selection. The Contractor is not liable for damage resulting from failures by third parties. The Contractor is hereby authorised by the Client to accept any limitations on liability by third parties on behalf of the Client.
- The Client indemnifies the Contractor against claims from third parties, including the reasonable costs of legal assistance, insofar as these are related to work performed for the Client, save in the event of gross negligence or wilful misconduct by the Contractor.
- Unless agreed otherwise, the fees will be calculated based on the number of hours worked, multiplied by the hourly rates to be determined by the Contractor each year.
- Expenses incurred on behalf of the Client will be charged separately. To cover general office costs (reasonable postage, telephone, fax and copying costs and the like), a percentage of the fee will be charged. All amounts are exclusive of VAT.
- The Client shall provide the Contractor with the information the Contractor and third parties engaged by the Contractor require to comply with the obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act (Wet ter voorkoming van witwassen en financierenvan terrorisme). The Contractor can be obliged to report unusual transactions to the authorities and provide information about cross-border constructions to tax authorities.
- The Client indemnifies the Contractor and affiliated persons against claims from third parties and other damage suffered by the Contractor or affiliated persons related to allegedly unlawful processing of personal data in the context of the instructions of the Client. Pursuant to the General Data Protection Regulation, the Contractor can be obliged to provide information to authorities or third parties.
- Work is invoiced periodically with a payment term of fourteen days from the date of the invoice. The Contractor is entitled to charge statutory interest (wettelijke rente) and collection costs (incassokosten) on payments past due.
- The legal relationship between the Client and the Contractor, including disputes with regard to the applicability and validity of these general terms and conditions (as well as this article on the choice of law), is exclusively governed by the law of the Netherlands. Disputes will be exclusively settled by the competent court in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
- In addition to the Contractor, any person affiliated with the Contractor may rely on these general terms and conditions and in particular on the limitation of liability. The same applies to successors under universal title (algemene titel) of affiliated persons, formerly affiliated persons, and the legal successors under universal title of formerly affiliated persons. This article serves as an irrevocable third-party clause without consideration (onherroepelijk derdenbeding om niet) within the meaning of Article 6:253 paragraph 4 of the Dutch Civil Code.
- These general terms and conditions are also applicable to supplementary assignments and follow-up assignments.
- These general terms and conditions have been drawn up in Dutch and English. The Dutch text prevails in the event of any interpretation differences. The general terms and conditions have been filed with the District Court of Amsterdam under number 62/2020 and can be downloaded on our website: www.berghstoop.com/en/general-terms-and-conditions.
