WILLEMSTAD – The Court of First Instance of Curaçao has rejected a claim by Vanddis B.V. seeking repayment of more than USD 100,000 in medical expenses paid for the late Oswald van der Dijs. The court found insufficient evidence that the payments constituted loans and concluded that the circumstances instead pointed to financial assistance provided by his brother out of affection and concern.
The August 17 ruling provides considerably more detail about the family dispute. Vanddis claimed repayment of USD 79,920, EUR 20,150 and XCG 11,897.86, representing payments made between September 2018 and January 2019 in connection with Oswald van der Dijs’ medical treatment. Together, the payments amounted to approximately USD 108,000.
The money had been provided through Vanddis by Oswald’s brother, the late Papito van der Dijs. Part of the money was paid directly to clinics in Germany, while other amounts covered expenses including airline tickets and funds provided to the family.
Vanddis maintained that the payments represented a series of loans that had to be repaid by Oswald and his family. After both brothers died — Oswald in 2019 and Papito in 2020 — Vanddis eventually sought repayment from Oswald’s heirs.
The heirs disputed that interpretation. They argued that Papito had paid the expenses because he wanted to help his sick younger brother and had never imposed an obligation to repay the money.
The court sided with the heirs.
According to the judgment, Vanddis failed to establish the existence of the eleven alleged loans. The court considered statements describing the relationship between the brothers as caring and generous and found that the circumstances surrounding the payments supported the position that Papito was helping his brother rather than acting as a lender.
Later discussions by members of Oswald’s family about possibly repaying money did not change that conclusion. The court interpreted those statements in the context of a perceived moral obligation after Papito’s death rather than as proof that a legally enforceable loan agreement had existed when the payments were made.
As a result, Vanddis’ entire claim was rejected. The company was also ordered to pay XCG 5,000 in legal costs, plus applicable post-judgment costs.
The case, however, did not end there.
Oswald’s heirs filed a counterclaim demanding USD 423,940 from Vanddis. They argued that the money had mistakenly been transferred from private funds to Vanddis on November 18, 2019, when it was actually intended for Lovers Curaçao.
The court rejected that claim as well.
Evidence presented in the proceedings included an email sent on the same day as the transfer referring to approximately USD 424,000 from life-insurance proceeds being used to settle the outstanding position of Lovers. The description accompanying the bank transfer also referred to payment of the “Lovers outstanding balance.”
The court therefore did not accept the heirs’ contention that the transfer to Vanddis had been an error.
The ruling went further on the counterclaim. The official summary of the judgment describes the counterclaim as having been brought “against better judgment,” resulting in an award of actual legal costs. The heirs were ordered to pay Vanddis USD 4,680 in legal expenses, plus applicable additional costs.
The dispute also has a connection to the wider conflict surrounding Lovers Industrial Corporation. Vanddis is the majority shareholder of Lovers, while Lovers Industrial USA is a minority shareholder, with family relationships connecting the shareholders. Earlier this year, that dispute culminated in the bankruptcy of Lovers after the Joint Court of Justice overturned an earlier decision and granted Vanddis’ bankruptcy request.
In the latest case, however, neither side succeeded in recovering the substantial sums it claimed.
For Vanddis, the court found there was no sufficient evidence that Papito’s financial support for his sick brother created a legal repayment obligation. For Oswald’s heirs, the court found no basis for their assertion that the USD 423,940 payment to Vanddis had been made by mistake.