Rechtbank Breda, uitspraak van 11/03/2009 200856 / KG ZA 09-119
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:NL:RBBRE:2009:BH6152
Date: 2009-03-11
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Netherlands

82009NL0311(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE SUMMARY
JURE SUMMARY
A shipyard seated in Poland had the MS Stas, sailing under the flag of Panama, impounded at the port of Moerdijk (NL) as a security. It had built the ship at the behest of a shipping company seated in Panama. The shipping company filed with the Rechtbank of Breda (NL) to lift the impounding. The shipyard had already had the MS Stas impounded in Poland, and the impounding was lifted by the court in Gdansk (PL). The judgment of the court in Gdansk must be recognised without review as to its substance pursuant to Article 33 and 36 Brussels I Regulation, so the plaintiff argued. The Polish judge had moreover found that the shipyard had not sufficiently substantiated its claims that formed the grounds for the impounding. That judgment excluded a renewed impounding under Polish law.
The Rechtbank of Breda holds that the judgment of the court in Gdansk must be recognised without review as to its substance pursuant to Articles 33 and 36 Brussels I Regulation. However, the judgment should be understood only as operating to lift the impounding in Poland and not to forbid further impounding. Moreover, that was a temporary assessment of the claims of the shipyard based on the evidence produced there and on that situation at that time. A new assessment based on changed factual or evidentiary circumstances is not ruled out. Unlike in the Polish proceedings, the shipyard accompanied its motion to impound in the Netherlands with a statement of claim. Even the danger that the Polish judge still denies, that the MS Stas might flee Poland, has been at this point proven by her trip from Gdansk to Moerdijk. The changed factual and evidentiary circumstance contradict the allegation of abuse of process on the part of the shipyard. The Rechtbank denies the shipping company's motion.