General terms & conditions Batelaan

1. These general terms & conditions are applicable on all services rendered by or on behalf of Mr. N.J. Batelaan, sole proprietorship, trading under the name Batelaan advocatuur & mediation, hereafter called “the firm”, on behalf of an assignor, hereafter called “the client”, and on all other legal relations between the firm and the client. These terms & conditions are also applicable with respect to additional assignments and subsequent assignments of a client.
2. When executing the work in connection with an assignment, the firm shall, insofar as reasonably possible, exercise due care. All agreements between the firm and a client shall be based on best efforts obligations and never on guarantee obligations.
3. The client is due to the firm a fee calculated on the basis of the spent hours by the firm, or a part thereof, multiplied by the hourly rate. In addition to the fee the client owes the firm a reasonable surcharge for office expenses and the costs which the firm pays on behalf of the client, like, but not limited to, couriers costs, court costs and costs of experts and of local counsel. The hourly rate and the mentioned reasonable surcharge for office expenses may be adjusted by the firm periodically, including for pending assignments, which will take place at least once a calendar year. Travel time is charged as spent time. For specific types of assignments or when assignments must be carried out under considerable time pressure, the firm shall be entitled to charge a higher hourly rate than its pending rate. To all due amounts the applicable turnover tax will be added.
4. Invoices will be paid by the client in full within 14 days of the invoice date, without any withholding, discount or set-off. If the client after summation lacks the payment of the at that time total due amount, the firm shall be entitled to postpone the execution of the assignment until full payment has taken place. In case of non-timely payment interest will be due by the client over the outstanding amount and the firm shall be entitled to full compensation of all costs required for the collection of the debt.
5. If through or in relation to the execution of an assignment of a client as a result of any act or negligence by the firm any form of liability of the firm towards the client would occur, then the scope of that liability towards the client shall in all situations be limited to the possible amount which under the by the firm concluded professional liability insurance regarding that particular damage will be remitted, plus the firm’s excess under that insurance policy. The firm does not accept liability in case under the professional liability insurance no payment will take place.
6. The in article 5 described limitation of liability is also applicable in case the firm would be liable for the not proper functioning of the by the execution of the assignment used equipment, hardware, software or other goods, none excluded. The limitation of liability is also applicable in case an e-mail message would not correctly or not completely or not timely be transferred and/or received. The client authorizes the firm to communicate through e-mail with the client and third parties, knowing that confidentiality of through e-mail transferred information is not completely secured.
7. In case by or in relation to the execution of an assignment of a client as a result of any act or negligence of the firm any liability would occur towards a third party, then the client shall completely indemnify the firm with respect to that liability and the related costs if and when the with respect to that liability under the by the firm concluded professional liability insurance paid out amount would be insufficient, including the situation that no payment at all will take place, in order to compensate the by the third party suffered damage.
8. The entitlement to damage compensation of a client towards the firm shall anyhow lapse 12 months after the event as a result of which the damage directly or indirectly occurred and for which the firm is held liable, unless the possible rights held by the client in accordance with the law have already lapsed previously.
9. With the selection of third parties that will be instructed in relation with the to the firm instructed assignments, due care shall be observed by the firm. The firm shall not be liable for mistakes which will allegedly be made by those third parties, nor for the related consequences.
10. Not only the firm, but as well all third parties who have been instructed in relation to the execution of an assignment of a client, can call on those general terms & conditions.
11. Both the firm as the client shall be entitled to terminate the agreement by given notice, with immediate effect if so desired. When giving notice to terminate by the client, the client shall at least pay for the services which have been carried out up to the moment of notice of termination.
12. The legal relation between the firm and the client is governed by Dutch law. Possible disputes resulting thereof shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent court in The Hague (The Netherlands), without prejudice to the firm’s power to submit a dispute to a court which would be competent in the absence of this provision.
13. In case of difference of interpretation between the Dutch text and the English text, or the text in another language of these general terms & conditions, the text of the Dutch version shall always prevail.