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KALFF KATZ & FRANSSEN

Terms and Conditions

Partnership
1. Kalff Katz & Franssen Attorneys at Law, is a partnership in which costs are pooled between mr. S.F. Kalff and mr. P. Katz on the one hand, and mr. J.G.J.E. Franssen and Mr Tolboom on the other hand. mr. Kalff and mr. Katz practise their legal profession for their own account and risk under the name Kalff Katz Attorneys at Law. mr. Franssen and Mr Tolboom practises their legal profession for their own account and risk through the private limited liability company, KKF B.V. Client assignments granted to mr. Kalff and/or mr. Katz will not bind mr. Franssen and/or Mr Tolboom. Client assignments granted to mr. Franssen and/or Mr Tolboom will not bind mr. Kalff and/or mr. Katz
Kalff Katz & Franssen Attorneys at law and its individual partners will also be referred to in these General Terms and Conditions as KKF.

Client Assignments
2. All client assignments are accepted and performed exclusively by or on behalf of the individual partners of KKF. This also applies if it is the explicit or implied intention that the work is performed by a specific person or persons. Sections 7:404, 7:407 subsection 2 and 7:409 of the Dutch Civil Code will not apply.

3. Client assignments will be carried out exclusively for the client. Third parties may not derive any rights from the work performed or the results thereof.

4. Client assignments granted to KKF will never seek advice on foreign law. Client assignments granted to KKF will not include tax advice unless this has been expressly agreed.

5. These General Terms and Conditions will apply to all client assignments granted to KKF, unless otherwise agreed in writing in advance. These General Terms and Conditions may be amended by KKF. Should these Terms and Conditions be amended by KKF, the amended General Terms and Conditions will apply to new and ongoing work with effect from the date of publication on the website: www.kalffkatzfranssen.nl. KKF rejects the applicability of any possible General Terms and Conditions of the client.

6. These General Terms and Conditions have been drawn up in the Dutch and English language. The Dutch text is binding.

7. KKF is, within the framework of executing the client assignment, entitled to engage third parties on the client’s behalf. KKF will, where possible and in all reasonableness, consult with the client on the third parties they wish to engage and KKF will, in any event, exercise due care. The selection of bailiffs and local counsels (rolwaarnemers) will, in principle, take place without consultation. KKF is entitled, without first consulting the client, to accept a possible limitation of liability on the part of the third parties they engage also on behalf of the client.

8. The client indemnifies KKF against all third-party claims including all reasonable costs of legal assistance that in any way relate to or ensue from work performed or to be performed for the client.

Fee and debt collection
9. KKF charges different rates for trainee lawyers, junior lawyers, senior lawyers and partners. A surcharge may also be added depending on the urgency, the specialist nature and/or the importance of the matter. KKF will pass on costs that are not included in its rates to the clients. These costs, the so-called disbursements, include but are not limited to travel expenses, court registry fees, fees for local counsels, bailiff costs, costs for extracts from public registers and courier costs.

10. KKF’s rates may be increased periodically. Any adjustment to KKF’s rates will take effect without prior notification to the client being required. KKF does not accept assignments on the basis of government funded legal aid (assigned cases).

11. VAT will be charged on all fees invoiced by KKF insofar as this is required. Invoices including a specification thereof if desired will, in principle, be sent to clients on a monthly basis for the work performed up to date. KKF will indicate how and in what currency the invoice should be paid. The client may pay the invoice by means of a direct debit from client’s bank or giro account.

12. All invoices sent by KKF must be paid within 14 days of the invoice date failing which the client will be in default. The client will then also be liable for default interest amounting to 1% of the principal sum owing per month, whereby part of a month will be calculated as one month. The client will also be liable for extrajudicial debt collection costs amounting to 15% of the principal sum plus default interest as defined in Section 6:119a of the Dutch Civil Code. If the client fails to pay what it owes, KKF is entitled, in addition to the aforementioned collection measures, to suspend its work for the client. KKF may only invoke its rights of suspension after it has notified the client of its intention to do so, and after it has allowed the client a short period within which the client can still fulfil its payment obligations. The duration of the aforementioned short period will be adapted to the circumstances of the relevant case. KKF does not accept any liability for possible damages and/or loss suffered by the client resulting from any suspension of work as referred to here.

13. KKF is always entitled to request advance payment for work to be performed and costs to be incurred. KKF is entitled to suspend or terminate its work if no advance payment has been made as security for such work, notwithstanding client’s obligation to pay outstanding and future invoices in good time. Advance payments received by KKF will be set-off by KKF against the monies (or in the interim as the case may be) owed by the client to KKF. KKF is entitled to hold advance payments received as security up until all ongoing work for the client has been invoiced to the client and has been paid by the client by means of set-off or otherwise.

14. KKF will only file a summons, application, statement of defence, pleadings and other documents after having received an advance payment from the client for the amount of the court fee owing to the judicial authority. The advance payment must be credited to KKF’s bank account at least three working days prior to the date on which the case comes up for hearing and/or the date of the proceedings.

15. KKF will, on first request by the client, transfer the monies received for the client on the clients’ account of the Stichting Derdengelden Kalff Katz Advocaten to a bank account designated by the client after deduction of the client’s outstanding invoices and the work in progress at the time of transfer of the client monies referred to above. The Stichting Derdengelden Kalff Katz Advocaten is entitled to keep the interest revenues in respect of the monies held on the clients’ account as a fixed fee for the management costs, administration charges, bank charges and other costs incurred, unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing between KKF and the client.

Liability and termination
16. KKF’s liability is limited to the amount paid out under KKF’s professional indemnity insurance in the relevant matter plus the amount of excess that, under the policy conditions, must be borne by KKF in such matter. Information on the professional indemnity insurance cover taken out by KKF will be provided on request.
KKF is not liable for any consequential loss.

17. If, for whatever reason, no payment is made under the aforementioned professional indemnity insurance policy, KKF’s liability will be limited to the fee invoiced by KKF in connection with the relevant assignment up to a maximum of € 25,000.

18. KKF is not liable for any failure to perform on the part of third parties engaged by KKF. Should the client hold any third party directly liable, the client will indemnify KKF against any third-party claims including all related costs in respect of the claim for liability.

19. All rights of action of whatever nature against KKF relating to the work performed by KKF will, in any event, lapse on expiry of a one-year period after the date on which the party involved became aware or could reasonably have been aware of the existence of these rights of action. KKF is not obliged to refund any fees already paid by the client to KKF if at any time, also at a later date, it appears that the client can qualify or could have qualified for government funded legal aid (assigned cases).

20. These General Terms and Conditions are laid down for the partners of KKF and for all those persons working for or who have worked for KKF, whether or not under the terms of an employment agreement. The indemnifications contained in articles 8 and 18 apply directly to these persons. They can never be held liable by the client, notwithstanding the provisions in article 2 except in the case of wilful misconduct or gross negligence. In these exceptional cases, the expiry stipulation contained in article 19 will apply directly to these persons.

21. The limitation of liability contained in these General Terms and Conditions, exclusions, expiry periods and indemnifications apply to all non-contractual agreements of the client with respect to KKF, to the extent these relate to the execution of an assignment by KKF.

22. The client and KKF are at all times entitled to prematurely terminate an assignment, without stating the reasons therefor on the understanding that KKF will only unilaterally and prematurely terminate an assignment in a careful manner so client is not unduly prejudiced. Premature termination will not alter the fact that the sums invoiced and to be invoiced by KKF remain due and payable.

Retention periods
23. KKF will archive a file after the last act in such file has been carried out. KKF will ensure that this file is stored in the archives for at least seven years. On expiry of the sever-year period, KKF is entitled to destroy client’s file without further notification to the client.

Disputes
24. The KKF complaints procedure applies to the contractual relationship between KKF and the client. A copy of this procedure can be requested from KKF at any time. The legal relationship between the client and KKF will be governed by the laws of the Netherlands. All disputes arising between the client and KKF will be brought exclusively before the competent court at Amsterdam without prejudice to KKF’s right to bring a dispute before any other competent court. Should it be decided in KKF’s favour in any judicial or disciplinary proceedings against the client, the client will be obliged to compensate KKF for all judicial costs incurred by KKF in and out of court including all costs incurred by KKF for attorneys at law and other advisors engaged internally or externally.
25. The client undertakes to notify KKF immediately in writing of any change of address, failing which the address entered in KKF’s records will deemed the client’s domicile.

These general conditions have been deposited at the Court Registry of the Amsterdam District Court on the 12th of May 2015 under register number 39/2015 (updated 9 March 2020)