AANSPRAKELIJKHEID VAN DE COMMANDITAIRE VENNOOT
De Hoge Raad mag zich erover uitlaten
Eerst een stukje Nederlands recht. Een commanditaire vennootschap (CV) is een contractuele rechtsbetrekking tussen twee of meer (rechts)personen tot uitoefening van een bedrijf onder gemeenschappelijke naam, waarbij op basis van inbreng vermogensrechtelijk voordeel wordt nagestreefd. De CV (met meerdere beherende vennoten) is dan ook een bijzondere vorm van de vennootschap onder firma (VOF). Die bijzonderheid bestaat hierin, dat de bedrijfsuitoefening mede voor rekening van één of meer stille vennoten (commandieten) geschiedt, die slechts risico lopen tot het bedrag van hun inbreng. De CV wordt dan ook wel ‘vennootschap bij wijze van geldschieting’ genoemd.
DE HOGE RAAD GAAT OM
Faillissement VOF betekent niet automatisch faillissement vennoten
Decennia lang moest worden vastgehouden aan de regel dat het faillissement van een vennootschap onder firma (VOF) tevens het faillissement van de individuele vennoten betekende (HR 14 april 1927, NJ 1927, blz. 725).
Bij arrest van 6 februari 2015 is de Hoge Raad echter omgegaan en heeft in een zaak die in Nederland speelde geoordeeld dat voor deze koppeling geen rechtvaardiging (meer) bestaat (ECLI:NL:HR:2015:251). De Hoge Raad motiveert het nieuwe standpunt als volgt:
3.4.1 Een vof heeft geen rechtspersoonlijkheid. Zij is een bij overeenkomst aangegane rechtsverhouding strekkende tot de uitoefening van een bedrijf …
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EEN GRATIS TELEFOON KOST GELD
Koop op afbetaling
Stel je woont in Nederland en hebt enkele telefoonabonnementen nodig. Je gaat naar een belwinkel en sluit twee overeenkomsten (telefoonabonnementen) met een telecomaanbieder. Je moet maandelijks abonnementskosten betalen (ongeveer € 55 per maand), plus eventuele extra verbruikskosten. Voor de eerste twaalf maanden van het abonnement krijg je een korting van 50%. Bij het aangaan van elk van de abonnementen ontvang je gratis een mobiele telefoon met een verkoopwaarde van ongeveer € 475. Van het eerste abonnement is een schriftelijk contract opgemaakt, van het tweede niet.
Je laat de facturen van de telecomaanbieder wat betreft beide abonnementen gedeeltelijk …
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STATUTORY FRAMEWORK FOR PROSPECTUS LIABILITY (II)
The Netherlands, Curaçao, St. Maarten and the BES-islands compared
The Netherlands
In the Netherlands there is a two-track law concerning prospectus liability as professor L. Timmerman calls it. There are two sets of rules supplementing the general doctrine of the wrongful act (Section 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code (‘BW-NL‘):
1. Misleading and comparative advertising (B2B)
Section 6:194 subsection 1 BW-NL:
“A person who with regard to goods or …
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STATUTORY FRAMEWORK FOR PROSPECTUS LIABILITY (I)
The Netherlands, Curaçao, St. Maarten and the BES-islands compared
That a prospectus must be approved (in the Netherlands and the BES Islands by the Authority for the Financial Markets, and in Curaçao and Sint Maarten by the Joint Central Bank of these countries) does not guarantee that the prospectus is not misleading. Therefore approval by the regulator does not entail a guarantee. The approval can be considered as an administrative approval contributing to better quality and more uniformity of the prospectuses.
A prospectus is an offer or an invitation to make an offer directed to the general public or to …
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PROSPECTUS LIABILITY AND PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW
The Netherlands, Curaçao, St. Maarten and the BES-islands
The Netherlands
Since 11 January 2009 Rome II* has been applicable in the Netherlands with regard to the applicable law on non-contractual obligations. Rome II is not applicable in Curaçao, St. Maarten, Aruba and the BES Islands. This observation obviously does not exclude a certain reflex effect.
Rome II applies to events causing loss occurring after 11 January 2009 (Section 31 Rome II). Non-contractual obligations, insofar as they are relevant here, involve obligations arising from (legal) obligations to pay compensation pursuant to a wrongful act (tort).
In my opinion prospectus …
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PROSPECTUS LIABILITY IN THE NETHERLANDS
World Online is the landmark case
Undoubtedly the most important ruling with regard to prospectus liability is the ruling of the Dutch Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) in the case of World Online (WOL) of 27 November 2009 (JOR 2010, 43 with annotation by Karel Frielink).
World Online was a European Internet Service Provider and its Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2000 proved a disaster. According to the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad of 22 July 2000: “World Online had all the ingredients to become a conflagration with prices going through the roof, as they say in stock exchange folklore.”
After the …
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LITIGATION IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN
If you need a troubleshooter in your corner
The civil court system in the Dutch Caribbean (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba) consists of three tiers; first instance cases are brought before the Court of First Instance. Appeal cases are brought before the Joint Court of Appeal. When all normal appeal procedures have been exhausted, cassation cases can be brought before the Court of Cassation or Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) in The Hague in the Netherlands.
All adversarial proceedings in the Dutch Caribbean shall be initiated by means of a petition to the Court of First Instance. …
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GOVERNMENT-OWNED COMPANIES
Opposing views on political influence
Few people would argue that the rules issued by the state (government) must also be correctly and strictly observed by that same state. It cannot be well conceived that, for example, the police and Public Prosecutor’s Office (as instruments of the state) should be allowed to violate the law with impunity.
Though there may be very different opinions about the nature and the role of the state (particularly from a philosophical and jurisprudential viewpoint), here we address the question of how we should consider government-owned companies, and in particular, what level of influence the government …
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THE INCORPORATION OF A CURACAO LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
Incorporating an NV or BV is not a hassle
The act on corporate law (Book 2 Curaçao Civil Code) governs the NV (‘public limited liability company’) and BV (‘private limited liability company’). These companies can be used for group finance or holding activities, (international) joint-ventures, funds, structured finance, as a Curaçao Trust and for “plain-vanilla” (local) activities.
A notarial deed is required for the formation of an NV or BV and for any amendment to articles of association (a.k.a. articles of incorporation). Formation can however, be very quick (within one or two days if necessary) and does not require many …
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IMPACT OF THE LIABILITY TO THE DIRECTOR OF THE DIRECTOR (I)
Liability of the 2nd degree director
Under Section 2:17 subsection 1 of the Curaçao Civil Code, the liability of a legal entity as a director of another legal entity (the direct or 1st degree director) also rests jointly and severally on each person who at the time this liability arose for the legal entity was its director (the indirect or 2nd degree director). It applies to this indirect director as it applies to the direct director that he will not be liable if he can prove that he cannot be blamed for the improper performance of duties, also considering his …
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ORDER OF THE COMMON APPEAL COURT OF CURACAO CONCERNING THE RIGHT TO INSTITUTE AN INQUIRY
The Appeal Court has taken several fundamental decisions
On 5 March 2013 the Common Court of Justice of Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (case: Ghis 55769 – HAR 28/12) issued an order in connection with inquiry proceedings. This order contains three major considerations.
The right of legal entities (including public limited companies [NV] and private companies with limited liability [BV]) to institute an inquiry was introduced in Curacao on 1 January 2012. Almost immediately after this introduction an application for instituting inquiry proceedings was submitted to the Appeal Court. The facts …
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