WILLEMSTAD – The National Library of Curaçao does not have to pay a law firm approximately Naf. 175,000 for the remaining period of a terminated legal advisory contract. The court ruled that the termination clause in the agreement was unacceptable because there was little evidence that legal work was still being performed.
The judgment, dated February 23, was only made public this week. The case concerned a retainer agreement between Fundashon Biblioteka Nashonal Kòrsou Frank Martinus Arion and a lawyer’s practice company.
Under the agreement, the library paid a monthly fee of Naf. 6,250, excluding sales tax and office expenses, for up to 28 hours of legal support.
The contract included an automatic three-year renewal clause if the agreement was not cancelled on time. It also stated that if the contract was terminated early, the library would remain responsible for paying the monthly fees until the end of the contract period.
After a new director took office at the library in June 2023, attempts were made to renegotiate the agreement. When no agreement was reached, the contract was terminated in April 2024.
The law firm subsequently issued invoices covering the remaining period until May 2026, totaling more than Naf. 175,000.
Court questions fairness of termination clause
The court ruled that applying the termination clause in this case would be unacceptable. In reaching that conclusion, the judge considered that the library is largely financed through government subsidies and that the arrangement created a significant disadvantage for the foundation while providing an unusually favorable financial benefit to the law firm.
The court also highlighted the lawyer’s special position of trust. According to the judgment, the lawyer did not only provide legal assistance but had also served as interim director of the library during two periods.
Because of that position, the lawyer should have clearly informed the foundation about the far-reaching financial consequences of the automatic renewal and the termination payment, according to the ruling.
No proof of substantial work provided
The court also noted that the law firm failed to provide an overview of hours worked, despite repeated requests from the library.
As a result, the judge concluded that little to no legal work appeared to have been carried out during the final period of the agreement. The library had continued paying the monthly fee during February, March and April 2024.
The law firm was ordered to pay the library’s legal costs, which were set at Naf. 4,000.
Possible involvement of Wildeman Legal
The name of the lawyer and her practice company was removed from the publicly available version of the judgment. However, based on publicly available information, the case appears likely to involve Wildeman Legal & Mediation, led by attorney Didi Wildeman.
The judgment mentions D.M. Wildeman and D.E. van Voorst as lawyers representing the claimant. Both are associated with Wildeman Legal. In addition, Didi Wildeman was publicly identified in 2022 as acting director of the National Library, during one of the periods referenced in the court ruling.
The identity of the claimant was officially anonymized in the judgment and has therefore not been formally confirmed by the court.