Ohmann Notariaat B.V. is a private company with limited liability (V.). As well as its statutory name, the private company with limited liability uses the name of Ohmann Notariaat.
All engagements, either directly of Ohmann Notariaat B.V., or of individual employees, shall exclusively be accepted and carried out by or on behalf of the company only. Sections 7:404 and 7:407 (2) of the Dutch Civil Code will not apply.
The contracting party is the client: one or more natural or legal persons who instruct Ohmann Notariaat B.V. to perform work.
Any liability of Ohmann Notariaat B.V. will be limited to the amount to which a claim is awarded under the professional liability insurance(s) in the matter concerned, to be increased by the amount of the deductible as provided for under the terms of the applicable insurance policy (policies). Minimum standards which the insurance must comply with are included in the applicable Rules of Professional Conduct and Practice. If, for whatever reason, no payment is made under this insurance, the liability of Ohmann Notariaat B.V. is limited to an amount equal to the fee charged for the performance of the relevant instruction involving the work from or as a result of which the damage and/or loss has occurred.
The limitation of liability also applies if Ohmann Notariaat B.V. is held liable for damage and/or loss arising directly or indirectly from the incorrect functioning of the equipment, software, data files, registers or other items used by Ohmann Notariaat B.V. in the performance of the instruction.
Any claim for compensation may not be made against (former) employees of Ohmann Notariaat B.V., other persons who work or worked with, for or on behalf of Ohmann Notariaat B.V. or with whom a cooperative venture has been entered into, nor against directors of legal entities who were or are responsible for performing the work or with whom a cooperative venture has been entered into.
Every right to compensation will in any case lapse twelve months after the event from which the liability arises either directly or indirectly; this does not exclude the provisions of Section 89 of Book 6 of the Dutch Civil Code.
If an instruction is given by several persons, each of them will be jointly and severally liable for the payment of the invoice for the work performed by Ohmann Notariaat B.V. If the instruction is given by a natural person on behalf of a legal person, the instruction will be deemed to have also been given by the natural person.
Ohmann Notariaat B.V. will exercise due care in engaging third parties at all times. Ohmann Notariaat B.V. is not liable for damage that is the consequence of failures by third parties. Ohmann Notariaat B.V. assumes, and if necessary hereby stipulates, that each engagement includes the authority to accept, also on behalf of the client, any limitations of liability on the part of third parties.
The client indemnifies Ohmann Notariaat B.V. against any claims of third parties, including the reasonable costs of legal assistance, which in any way relate to or arise from the activities carried out on behalf of the client, except in the case of intent or gross negligence on the part of Ohmann Notariaat B.V.
Ohmann Notariaat B.V. will inform the client in good time and clearly of the financial consequences of its engagement. The fee will be determined based on the hours spent on the instruction multiplied by the hourly rate applied by Ohmann Notariaat B.V., unless otherwise agreed. If Ohmann Notariaat B.V. performs work as a result of a purchase agreement, the parties will be charged the fee as agreed by the parties in the purchase agreement. If nothing has been agreed in this respect, Ohmann Notariaat B.V. will charge the purchaser the fee. Ohmann Notariaat B.V. will inform the client in good time if more costs will be charged than agreed on. Ohmann Notariaat B.V. may not charge the costs of its work to another instruction, another part of the instruction or any party other than the client.
Expenses incurred by Ohmann Notariaat B.V. (including courier, travel and accomodation costs, registration and court fees, and costs, including (negative) interest, charged by third parties, such as banks) will be for the client's account. Fees and expenses owed by the client will additionally be increased with 4,9% office costs and turnover tax (VAT) as required by law, unless regarding the latter the client is established in another European Union member state and has provided Ohmann Notariaat B.V. with a valid VAT number, or is established outside the European Union.
An instruction will be deemed to have been accepted:
if the client has received confirmation of the instruction from Ohmann Notariaat B.V.;
if the client takes receipt of either a draft deed drawn up on behalf of Ohmann Notariaat B.V. at the client's request or of a personal advice that has been given; or
if Ohmann Notariaat B.V. receives a purchase agreement stipulating that the civil-law notary who belongs to Ohmann Notariaat B.V. will execute the deed of transfer and commences all the related work.
Ohmann Notariaat B.V. and its civil law notary do not accept liability in the event that the notaries' client money account(s) show a deficit because the bank where said account(s) are held is unable to fulfill its obligations.
These general conditions may be relied upon not only by Ohmann Notariaat B.V. and its board member, but also by any persons or legal entities that are engaged in the performance of any services for the client.
The clauses in these general conditions are also stipulated for the benefit of persons who are or have been employed by the company.
Invoices must be paid within fourteen days of the invoice date, unless otherwise agreed or otherwise specified by Ohmann Notariaat B.V. on or with the invoice. If payment is not made within this period, the client will be in default. In that case, default interest (equivalent to the statutory interest) and collection costs will be payable by the client. The collection costs will be charged based on the Dutch Extrajudicial Collection Costs (Fees) Decree (Besluit vergoeding voor buitengerechtelijke incassokosten). If the client is a legal person or a natural person acting in the course of his/her business or profession, then contrary to the provisions of the above decree 15% of the outstanding claim will be charged by way of collection costs, with a minimum of EUR 250.
The rates to be charged will be adjusted each year as of 1 January, in line with the Dutch consumer price index for all households for the preceding period from October to October, with amounts to be rounded to a multiple of EUR 5.
The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act (Wet ter voorkoming van witwassen en financiering van terrorisme, WWFT) will apply to the services of Ohmann Notariaat B.V. In connection with this, Ohmann Notariaat B.V. will be obliged, inter alia:
to have a ‘client screening’ performed in connection with the services to the client, which will include ascertaining and verifying the client's identity. Client shall provide Ohmann Notariaat B.V. with any any information that Ohmann Notariaat B.V. needs in order to meet any obligations with regard to the WWFT; and
to report any unusual situation or transaction to the Financial Intelligence Unit-Netherlands (FIU-Netherlands) without the knowledge of the parties involved in the instruction.
A debt payable by Ohmann Notariaat B.V. on account of the payment of a sum by reason of a legal act stipulated in a deed cannot be assigned or pledged. Ohmann Notariaat B.V. will only pay out a sum, in accordance with the notarial rules of professional conduct and practice, to a person acting as a party to a deed and/or who is able to claim the payment of the sum by reason of the legal act stipulated in the deed, except where these rules provide otherwise.
Ohmann Notariaat B.V. will comply with all existing rules of professional conduct and practice. An explanation of these rules can be found in the consumer brochure ‘Spelregels voor notaris en consument’ (Rules of the game for civil-law notaries and consumers), prepared by the Dutch Royal Notarial Association in consultation with the Dutch Consumer’s Association and the Dutch Association of (Prospective) Home Owners. This brochure can be found on knb.nl and can be provided on request.
A Complaints and Dispute Settlement Procedure for the Notarial Profession applies. This can be found on knb.nl and www.degeschillencommissie.nl. The Disputes Committee for the Notarial Profession will not deal with a complaint until the office complaints procedure has been completed.
The legal relationship between the client and Ohmann Notariaat B.V. will be governed by Dutch law. Disputes arising from the legal relationship between the client and Ohmann Notariaat B.V. will be submitted for resolution exclusively to the Dutch court(s) or the Disputes Committee for the Notarial Profession.
These general conditions are also applicable to any supplementary engagements and follow-on engagements. They have been drawn up in the Dutch and English language. In the case of any dispute about the contents or meaning of these general conditions, the Dutch text will be binding.
Ohmann Notariaat B.V. reserves the right to amend or supplement these general conditions.
