Martijn van de Hel is assisting a landlord of retail premises in a dispute with insolvent department store Hudson's Bay about alleged cartel conduct. Hudson's Bay claims that the owners from whom it leased retail premises before its insolvency have conspired over guarantees given by Hudson's Bay for its rental obligations. Hudson's Bay has summoned a large number of parties to testify.
The landlord sees this as a diversionary manoeuvre and an abusive attempt by Hudson's Bay's Canadian parent company to breach its guarantee obligations. The landlord denies that any prohibited cartel agreements were entered into and that the terms of the leases were dictated by Hudson's Bay’s Canadian parent company when Hudson's Bay came to the Netherlands in 2017. The case is expected to be filed in the autumn.
For more background information see e.g. Het Parool.
