Litigation

Resolving disputes requires more than legal knowledge alone. Agorax helps companies, shareholders, directors, investors, claims foundations and (litigation) financiers to chart the right course. We stand for incisive analysis, a well-thought-out strategy and the ability to distil complex issues down to their essence. We distinguish ourselves through practical advice and personal commitment to every case.

We handle cases relating to company law, the law of obligations – including contractual disputes – and liability law. Our team has particular expertise and experience in the areas of directors’ liability, shareholder disputes and irregularities in business operations. We also specialise in collective redress, including collective actions under the Dutch Act on Collective Damages in Class Actions (WAMCA) and class actions. In addition, we run a specialist practice at the intersection of sanctions law and litigation. In these matters, we work closely with our sanctions law specialists at Agorax.

We regularly advise on and litigate cross-border matters. We have the experience and international network to provide clients with effective support in these areas, both in proceedings before the Dutch courts and in the coordination of disputes spanning multiple jurisdictions.

Every dispute requires a bespoke strategy. We adopt a proactive approach. Already in the stages leading up to potential litigation, we actively contribute ideas regarding risks, opportunities and alternatives. Should litigation prove necessary, you are in safe hands with us.

We have extensive experience in litigation at first instance and on appeal, proceedings before the Enterprise Chamber, interim relief proceedings, attachment orders, requests for access to documents, witness examinations and the actual enforcement of judgments and orders, including filing for attachment orders and the conduct of enforcement disputes. We also have extensive experience in the recognition and enforcement of foreign court and arbitral awards.

We therefore provide support throughout the entire process: from strategic advice and litigation to the actual enforcement of rights and the collection of awarded claims.

Our areas of expertise include:

• Directors’ liability
• Shareholder disputes and acquisition disputes
• Mass claims, including collective actions (WAMCA) and class actions
• Contractual disputes
• Fraud and irregularities within the company
• Attachment
• Requests for access to documents
• Claims for damages (individual and collective)
• Sanctions law disputes
• Cross-border disputes
• Inquiry proceedings and dispute resolution (Enterprise Chamber)
• Advice on structuring mass claims
• Assistance with securing litigation funding
• Second opinions on feasibility and strategy

Experience

A selection of cases in which our team has been involved:

• Revocation and liability proceedings on behalf of the sole shareholder of the Dutch life insurer Conservatrix against De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) and the State before the civil courts and the Enterprise Chamber. In a landmark ruling in early 2026, the court found that DNB had acted fraudulently in the expropriation of the shares in Conservatrix.
• A mass claim on behalf of the Women’s Rights Collective Foundation against, amongst others, Clinical Diagnostics and the State in connection with the data breach at Clinical Diagnostics, as part of which hackers stole sensitive medical and personal data from approximately 1 million participants in the cervical cancer screening programme. We also assisted the foundation in securing litigation funding.
• Representation of a manufacturer based outside the EU, which was the victim of VAT fraud, in a dispute with a tax representative based in the Netherlands.
• Representation of a former foreign director in an international dispute before the civil courts and the Enterprise Chamber concerning a dividend payment relating to the Angolan state-owned oil company, the legal validity of which was subsequently contested by the major shareholder and the company.
• Representing an Austrian director in a dispute concerning the recognition and enforcement in the Netherlands of a US judgment by a Swiss claimant. In 2025, preliminary questions on this matter were referred to the Dutch Supreme Court.
• Providing second opinions for a litigation funder on the admissibility of the claim and the viability of two competition law claims against a big tech company.
• Advising the director and minority shareholder of an international perfume company in a shareholder dispute concerning the company’s policy and management.
• Acting on behalf of a Dutch private equity fund in a dispute concerning a convertible loan within a group of companies in the international trust sector.
• Advising a joint venture partner on the winding up of the partnership with the other partner.
• Liability proceedings and attachment orders on behalf of a large fund established in the tulip sector, which had suffered losses as a result of the so-called ‘Novacap fraud’.
• Advising the former director and founder in disputes concerning the restructuring of a property fund.
• Representing a notary and partner in a Dutch notary’s office in a shareholder dispute concerning the management and policy of the firm.
• Acting in inquiry proceedings before the Enterprise Chamber on behalf of a director and shareholder of a childcare organisation.
• Acting as a boardroom adviser to an international department store facing financial difficulties.
• Liability proceedings and attachment orders on behalf of the property division of an international bank that had suffered losses as a result of the so-called ‘property fraud’ case.