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Olivier VANDEN BERGHE
Partner
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T : +32 2 551 14 58
F : +32 2 551 14 53
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Olivier Vanden Berghe heads the firm’s Commercial Contracts and Litigation Practice. He is specialised in commercial contracts litigation and has been representing large undertakings since more than 20 years in a wide range of commercial issues.
He deals with legal questions and litigation relating to “business-to-business” transactions in a large variety of sectors, such as energy, pharmaceuticals, retail, construction and engineering. Active both in litigation and advisory, he assists clients in determining the most appropriate business scheme, anticipating risks, dealing with business-critical situations and preventing or resolving disputes. His activity focuses on distribution networks and cooperation agreements, industrial construction and engineering activities and joint ventures.
Olivier has been a lecturer on commercial litigation at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven). He is regularly invited as a speaker and has written various articles on the subject of commercial contracts. He is the editor in chief of the Revue de Droit Commercial Belge.
Olivier holds a law degree from the University of Leuven (1993) and an advanced degree in civil law from Paris II University (1994).
Olivier has been an attorney in Brussels since 1995 and joined Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick in 2001, where he became a Partner in 2008.
Recent matters
Distribution, Commercial Intermediaries and Retail
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Successfully defending a major petrochemical company against a 80M€ claim brought by a foreign reseller of polypropylene as a consequence of a supply stop.
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Representing an airline in a 50M€ dispute with its former General Sales and Services Agent for freight worldwide.
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Advising clients in industries such as energy, pharmaceuticals, catering, services, retail, and cosmetics on their expansion through franchising and other distribution methods or on reorienting their current distribution strategy and on related competition law issues in relation to exclusivity and retail pricing.
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Representing a major oil and gas company operating high way gas stations under public concession in its litigation against the world leading operator of highway restaurants.
Energy
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Assisting the main contractor with the construction of a North Sea offshore wind farm, with disputes and financial issues related to unforeseen circumstances occurring during construction.
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Representing a large oil and gas company against a 30M€ claim brought in relation to the operation of a cogeneration combined heat and power plant.
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Enforcing take or pay agreements for suppliers in the renewable energy field, in the midst of huge price changes on the international market.
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Providing advice to the participants in a consortium agreement for a European research project in the field of nuclear technology.
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Representing one of the major energy and gas suppliers in Belgium in their claim against the manager of the electricity and gas distribution networks in Wallonia, because of failure to transfer correct meter details preventing the suppliers to correctly invoice to their customers.
Construction and Engineering
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Representing Belgium’s largest refinery and other affected group companies in the proceedings brought as a consequence of a landslide incident damaging underground (crude oil and gas) pipelines and causing production interruptions and shortages.
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Advising the EU with regard to the construction/renovation of the building to become the main seat of the Council.
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Assisting a major oil and gas company in the procurement tendering for the 1 billion euro expansion of its refinery.
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Assisting a major global discount supermarket chain, in a litigation with the contractor of its new concept stores.
Manufacturing and Product Liability
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Defending the manufacturer of heat tracing material as a consequence of potential risks at the end customer's premises in the Antwerp Port.
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Supporting a manufacturer in the automotive industry in relation to claims caused by a defective raw material batch and in successfully dealing with a product recall threat.
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Assisting a leading company in sport goods retail, in seeking relief against the manufacturer of its e-bikes subject to massive recalls.
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Assisting a glass manufacturer in the pharmaceutical sector in claims with regard to potential deficient flasks.
Market recognition
- Olivier Vanden Berghe is recommended by Legal 500, 2020
- Olivier Vanden Berghe is recommended by Legal 500, 2019
- Olivier Vanden Berghe is Highly recommended by Leaders League, 2019
Dutch, French, English
- Olivier Vanden Berghe panel member in seminar on the new Civil Code
- b2b terms rundown#8 – b2b-law vs. New Civil Code
- De koper van aandelen kan bij onjuiste verklaringen niet zonder meer de vergoeding eisen van de door de vennootschap geleden schade (Cass. 4 december 2020)
- b2b terms rundown 7 – Arbitration clauses are not unfair
- b2b terms rundown 6 – What about exclusion of liability for indirect loss?
- b2b terms rundown 5 – A new deterrent against high penalty clauses?
- b2b terms rundown 4 – Can an unfair clause be partially annulled?
- b2b terms rundown 3 – No exclusion of liability for gross negligence
- b2b terms rundown 2 – a status quo to economic risk in contracts?
- B2B terms rundown 1 – Is contractual freedom actually restricted as from 1 December 2020
- Precontractuele informatie bij commerciële samenwerkingsovereenkomsten, handelsagentuurovereenkomsten, concessies van alleenverkoop?
- Gemeenrechterlijke contractuele clausules
- Les intérêts de retard
- Le régime des intérêts de retard en droit belge
- Contractuele of niet-contractuele aansprakelijkheid van de onderaannemer, 2010
- Exoneratiebedingen in internationale handelscontracten
- Duur en beëindiging van handelscontracten
- Take-or-pay-clausules
- Le livre X du nouveau Code de droit économique – ‘Les nouveautés en matière d’information précontractuelle’
- Actualités en droit commercial
- Precontractuele informatie bij commerciële samenwerkingsovereenkomsten, handelsagentuurovereenkomsten, concessies van alleenverkoop?
- Olivier Vanden Berghe panel member in seminar on the new Civil Code (KULeuven) on 23 September 2022
- 7th Annual Real Estate Breakfast Seminar - Thank you
- Contracts under the new Civil Code in a world in crisis
- New Civil Code – Book 5 on contracts approved on 21 April 2022.
- New Civil Code – Book 5 on contracts approved on 21 April 2022.
- The impact of the war in Ukraine on contracts under Belgian law
- Liedekerke's Expertise Recognised by Leaders League 2022 rankings
- Olivier Vanden Berghe advises on what to consider when drafting B2B contracts in webinar on 20 January 2022
- La partie qui supporte la charge de la preuve d’un fait n’est pas tenue de réfuter les éléments invoqués par l’autre partie – Cass. 1 avril 2021
- L’examen à effectuer par le juge pour rejeter l’abus de droit – Cass. 4 mars 2021
- Verhoging van de rechtsplegingsvergoeding met 10% vanaf 1 juni 2021
- De enkele verwijzing naar algemene voorwaarden volstaat niet voor hun toepasselijkheid - Cass. 14 mei
- Kwalitatieve rechten gaan reeds over met de eigendomsoverdracht, een voorlopige oplevering is niet vereist - Cass. 14 mei 2021
- Liedekerke successfully assisted Provera during investigation by the Belgian Competition Authority for a joint purchase agreement with Carrefour Belgium
- Liedekerke's Expertise Recognised by Leaders League
- Le tribunal de l’entreprise francophone de Bruxelles déclare recevable une action en réparation collective à l’encontre de Ryanair – Trib entr. fr. Bruxelles 8 décembre 2020
- A new deterrent against high penalty clauses?
- b2b terms rundown 4 – Can an unfair clause be partially annulled?
- Un modèle harmonisé d’action collective dans tous les États membres - projet de directive relative aux actions représentatives dans le domaine de la protection des intérêts collectifs des consommateurs
- b2b terms rundown 3 – No exclusion of liability for gross negligence
- De grenzen van het ambtshalve rechterlijke handelen bij een overeenkomst in strijd met de openbare orde
- b2b terms rundown 2 – a status quo to economic risk in contracts?
- B2B terms rundown 1 – Is contractual freedom actually restricted as from 1 December 2020
- Eerste veroordeling van verkoopsweigering wegens misbruik van economische afhankelijkheid (nieuwe B2B wet)
- Samenloopverbod tussen contractuele en buitencontractuele aansprakelijkheid, ook bij kwalitatieve rechten - Cass. 2 oktober 2020
- La vétusté de la chose endommagée ne justifie pas une réduction du dédommagement - Cass. 17 septembre 2020
- Het Hof van Cassatie bevestigt: de opschortende voorwaarde van het bekomen van krediet is niet zuiver potestatief
- Les circonstances qui ont présidé à la naissance d’un droit ne peuvent pas être constitutives d’un abus de ce droit
- Olivier Vanden Berghe and Sebastian Tytgat co-authored the Belgian chapter of the 2020 edition of ‘Getting the Deal Through: Distribution & Agency’
- Unfair terms and practices in B2B relationships – How to adapt to the new rules?
- La prescription du droit d’interjeter appel – Cour d’appel Bruxelles, 13 décembre 2019
- DPA-Deposit niet meer verplicht vanaf 12 januari 2020 – RvSt 12 december 2019
- Het uitspreken van de partiële nietigheid indien de absolute nietigheid gevorderd wordt, is niet in strijd met het beschikkingsbeginsel – Cass. 9 september 2019
- Des obligations de chargement et de déchargement ne suffisent pas pour écarter la qualification de contrat de transport – Cass. 20 septembre 2019
- CJUE, 26/11/2019: la légitimité du filtrage des pourvois par les avocats à la Cour de cassation
- Betalingstermijn voor facturen van KMO’s binnenkort maximum 60 dagen
- Quasi-verschuiving van bewijslast bij verrijking zonder oorzaak wordt wettig bevonden door het Hof van Cassatie
- Nogmaals bevestigd door Cassatie: de aansprakelijkheid wegens niet-conforme levering biedt geen soelaas voor de koper die de korte termijn voor het instellen van een vordering wegens verborgen gebreken laat verstrijken
- Verduidelijkingen van het Hof van Cassatie inzake de beoordelingsvrijheid van de bodemrechter bij het begin van bewijs door geschrift en de gedingbeslissende eed.
- Grondwettelijk Hof vernietigt wijziging aan Taalwet Gerechtszaken ingevoerd bij Potpourri VI
- Eigen fout van de koper sluit de aansprakelijkheid van de verkoper van de gebrekkige zaak niet uit, ook niet indien er zonder deze fout geen schade zou zijn geweest
- Liedekerke assists Brussels Airlines, Brussels Airport and TUI in legal action against skeyes, the Belgian air traffic control provider
- Het Hof van Cassatie bevestigt: de opschortende voorwaarde van het bekomen van krediet is niet zuiver potestatief
- Kickoff New Belgian Civil Code: Book 8 "Proof", approved on April 4th.
- Olivier Vanden Berghe and Sebastian Tytgat co-authored the Belgian chapter of the 2019 edition of ‘Getting the Deal Through: Distribution & Agency’.
- How to continue your activities in Belgium post-Brexit?
- Trade secrets to remain secret in court
- Will remote damages be excluded in future Belgian contract law?
- Olivier Vanden Berghe and Sebastian Tytgat co-authored the Belgian chapter of the 2018 edition of ‘Getting the Deal Through: Distribution & Agency’.
- Avant-projet de loi contre la parité tarifaire imposée par les plateformes de réservation en ligne aux exploitants d’hébergements touristiques
- Liedekerke is a proud sponsor of the international conference on policies against Odometer Fraud by Car-Pass
- Les commissions indirectes dans le contrat d’agence commerciale – Questions pratiques
boulevard de l'Empereur 3 Keizerslaan - 1000 Brussels - Belgium
T: +32 2 551 15 15 - F: +32 2 551 14 14
VAT - BE 0478 065 191
