Holla and Maverick successfully litigate for Dutch Grand Prix over Formula One tickets

Martijn van de Hel and Cyriel Ruers successfully assisted Holla Legal & Tax (Merel Franke and Dewi Westenberg) in summary proceedings for Dutch Grand Prix (DGP) in a dispute with a reseller (Platinium Group). The dispute concerns the resale of entry tickets on the international market for the Formula 1 race in Zandvoort.

DGP and the reseller had an agreement that the reseller was allowed to sell tickets for the Formula 1 race in Zandvoort in 2024 and 2025 for a fixed amount. However, the reseller failed to sell enough tickets for 2024. Part of the agreed amount had not yet been paid. To enforce payment, DGP went to court.

The reseller had argued that it did not have to pay the amount as they had validly terminated the contract due to alleged failures by DGP to fulfill the contract. Aside from this, according to the reseller, the contract was void based on competition law. The interim relief judge did not follow this reasoning and ruled that the alleged shortcomings had not been made plausible.

The judge also held that the reseller had not sufficiently substantiated that the contract was void due to a violation of competition law. The reseller was therefore ordered to pay DGP the sum of €3 million, plus interest and additional costs.

See the link to the ruling here.

For more information see Holla Legal & Tax's news release, the court's press release and various media reports on the matter (AD, FD, Telegraaf and NU.nl).

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