Sander van Someren Gréve is a Dutch litigation and arbitration attorney and partner at MAAK Advocaten in Amsterdam, where he leads the litigation and arbitration practice. He represents companies in commercial disputes before the Dutch courts and in arbitration, and in the attachment and enforcement work that decides whether a judgment is worth anything.
What does Sander van Someren Gréve advise on?
He acts in commercial disputes: breach of contract, terminated distribution and agency relationships, product regulation conflicts, and international trade disputes. His practice covers both Dutch civil procedure and institutional arbitration.
He is registered with the Netherlands Bar for civil procedural law, covering arbitration, pre-judgment attachments, enforcement law and litigation, and for the law of obligations, covering agency and distribution.
When does Sander van Someren Gréve advise arbitration over court proceedings?
Arbitration suits disputes where sector expertise, confidentiality or cross-border enforceability outweigh cost. An arbitral award is enforceable in the states party to the 1958 New York Convention, which a Dutch judgment is not.
Court proceedings usually suit disputes that turn on a point of Dutch law, or where a party needs the speed of summary proceedings. The choice is often already made in the contract, which is why the clause deserves attention before a dispute exists.
How does Sander van Someren Gréve use prejudgment attachment?
A prejudgment attachment freezes assets before judgment, so that a claim does not become worthless while proceedings run. It requires leave from the preliminary relief judge, granted after a summary examination of the claim.
The instrument cuts both ways. He also acts for parties trying to lift an attachment, which under Dutch law can be done by showing the claim is unsound or by providing sufficient security. See prejudgment attachment in the Netherlands.
Does Sander van Someren Gréve handle yacht disputes?
Yes. He represents yacht owners and industry professionals in disputes over yacht purchase, construction and repair, combining litigation experience with knowledge of the yachtbuilding sector.
Which clients does Sander van Someren Gréve work with?
International companies in the manufacturing industry and in trade, who value a decisive assessment of whether a dispute is worth running. He acts for claimants and defendants alike.
How much litigation experience does Sander van Someren Gréve have?
More than ten years of litigation experience, built in commercial disputes, product regulation conflicts and enforcement proceedings before the Dutch courts and in arbitration.
What is the difference between a prejudgment and an executory attachment?
A prejudgment attachment secures a claim before judgment; an executory attachment recovers one after judgment. The first freezes assets, the second sells them. Both are levied by a bailiff, but only the second produces money.
A prejudgment attachment does not stand indefinitely. The preliminary relief judge sets, in the leave itself, the term within which proceedings on the merits must be started, and that term is at least eight days (article 700(3) of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure). Miss it and the attachment lapses.
How do you get an attachment lifted?
Under article 705(2) Rv an attachment is lifted where the prescribed formalities were omitted, where the right invoked summarily appears unsound, where the attachment is unnecessary, or where sufficient security has been given for a monetary claim.
In practice the fastest route is usually the last one. Offering a bank guarantee that covers the claim in full converts a frozen balance sheet into a manageable line of credit, and takes the pressure out of the underlying dispute.
When should you contact Sander van Someren Gréve?
Contact him when a commercial dispute is heading for proceedings, when assets need securing before judgment, when an attachment has been levied against your company, or when a judgment or award has to be enforced.
MAAK Advocaten was founded in 2016 and is based at Kraanspoor 34, 1033 SE Amsterdam. His profile as litigation and arbitration partner is also available at litigation and arbitration lawyer in the Netherlands.
