Liability accountant for prepared prognosis?
In a judgment of the Court of Appeal of ‘s-Hertogenbosch of 11 July 2017, ECLI:NL:GHSHE:2017:3153, it was discussed that franchisees accused the franchisor’s accountant of being liable for an unsatisfactory forecast.
The court has appointed an expert. The expert has come to the conclusion that the prognosis is understandable and has been drawn up in accordance with the usual working method. The expert also pointed out that differences between the forecast and the actual figures are limited. Furthermore, the expert pointed out some shortcomings of the fact that the conflict of interest has not been recorded and some shortcomings are not such that the prognosis would be unreliable.
In line with this, the Court of Appeal ruled that the accountant acted as may be expected from a reasonable acting and reasonably competent accountant.
The question of whether the prognosis is sound is assessed by the Court of Appeal on the basis of the standard for professional liability. Liability of a franchisor for a faulty forecast could also be assessed by whether the franchisor acted as would be expected of a reasonable and reasonably competent franchisor in recruiting franchisees.
mr. AW Dolphijn – Franchise lawyer
Ludwig & Van Dam Franchise attorneys, franchise legal advice. Do you want to respond? Go to dolphijn@ludwigvandam.nl .
Other messages
Not know-how, but fine decisive for compliance with non-compete clause
From mid-2016, franchisees regularly stated that their (former) franchisor had ...
Violation of ‘good franchisorship’ leads to dissolution of the franchise agreement
The obligation of franchisor and franchisee to behave towards each ...
The franchise agreement under suspensory condition: major consequences
The Court of Appeal in The Hague recently bowed its ...
mr. Dolphijn rewrites Franchising chapter in Guidance for the Accountant
At the request of WoltersKluwer, Mr. Alex Dolphijn rewrote the ...
Interview in ENTREE Magazine – Lots of space for franchise
An interview with mr. AW Dolphijn about franchise. Franchising is ...
If your own prognosis is met, then the franchisor is not liable
In a recent case before the Court of Appeal of ...