Mobility

Mobility is a sector experiencing significant changes, with increased reliance on automation and digitization, as well as a focus on sustainability. Liedekerke understands the challenges and opportunities associated with these industry-wide transitions. Our team offers advisory, contracting and dispute resolution services based on solid pillars: our decades of expertise, and in-depth knowledge of the mobility sector.

We offer an extensive array of services within the mobility sector:

Our transport and logistics sector services include:

• claim and risk management for air and rail carriers and insurance companies (life and non-life, maritime and transport insurance);

• advice on intermediation and regulatory compliance matters; drafting internal procedures, communication tools, and contractual documents;

• representation in court of railway/airport/insurance companies in various liability and regulatory issues;

• assistance in day-to-day business, including the transport licences and contracts with subcontractors;

• assistance with passenger claims, etc.

Our automotive sector services include:

• setting up and restructuring distribution networks;

• negotiating software and hardware development agreements;

• reviewing advertising campaigns and advising on the sharing of driver data and vehicle-to-vehicle communications;

• advising on traditional areas of legal practice, such as labour plans and VAT optimization;

• legal support in the drafting and negotiating of dealer contracts;

• handling disputes with dealers, suppliers, and clients;

• advising on regulatory and competition matters.

Our IP, IT and Data Protection teams support and advise innovative and creative organisations on handling all aspects of intellectual property, with several particular focuses:

• copyrights, trademarks, designs and patents, in contentious and non-contentious matters;

• transactions in technology intensive industries, including licensing agreements;

• GDPR compliance projects, including the review and drafting of all required documents, procedures, and guidelines (a.o. with US universities);

• support clients with ad hoc questions in day-to-day management (e.g., use of pictures, transfer of data with other entities, direct marketing).

Our Commercial contracts team assists clients in numerous sectors, including:

• determining the most appropriate business scheme;

• dealing with business-critical situations and litigating when necessary;

• advising on standard contracts; creating franchising and distribution networks;

• contracts for industrial construction and engineering, energy supply and distribution, joint ventures, and complex production and transformation in key industrial sectors.

Our elite regulatory practice provides advisory and litigation services to private and public sector clients. Thanks to our truly diverse and multilingual teams, we are able to offer coverage to all of Belgium’s federal and regional entities.

Our Environment practice is one of the leading environmental teams amongst the full-service business law firms present in Belgium. A leading stand-alone practice with strong recognised individuals acting as frontline players in all environmental matters, our Environmental practice regularly supports the work of our corporate and real estate departments. We offer true Belgium-wide coverage (all three regions) with extensive knowledge of regional and European legislations.

Our practice is well diversified, and deals with varied concerns, including soil pollution, waste management, circular economy, logistics, infrastructure, retail, nuclear regulations, noise nuisance, pesticides, permitting and litigation, climate change.

Our Clients

Our clients include public and private actors, railway companies, automotive manufacturers, airlines technology players, project developers, producers, major and alternative energy suppliers, big industrial consumers, SMEs (e.g., in renewables), grid operators, investment funds and industry associations, and regulators.

Our Relevant Experience

AUTOMOTIVE

Assisting and advising key players from the automotive industry with various legal matters regarding their activities

• Assisting numerous OEM in relation to their dealer network and the contracts for accessory services

• Advising an electric vehicle and clean energy company on a regular basis, regarding conformity of products (batteries) and share of vehicles’ data

• Assisting an automotive manufacturer in relation to its participation in Consortium Agreement and EU Grant Agreement for hydrogen infrastructure and fuel cell electric vehicle fleet

• Assisting a Korean multinational automobile manufacturer with the review and adaptation of its terms and conditions (under Belgian law) for the use of a mobile application for a variety of smart car functions

• Assisting a Japanese automotive manufacturer in various aspects concerning its operations in several of its entities, including claim and risk management, advice on promotional campaigns, drafts of legal documentation (contracts and additions), reorganisation (and termination) of dealer agreements, and use of social media

• Advising a client in the automotive industry on a continuous basis regarding data protection matters, (e.g. background checks, tracking of GPS-data for non-compliance with lease agreements); monitoring of legal developments ( e.g. Schrems II, contract drafting regarding the lease agreements and use of data)

• Assisting a German automotive manufacturer with the organisation and implementation of their dealer network

• Assisting and advising several automotive manufacturers on the roll-out of online platforms

ROAD TRANSPORT

Assisting and advising national and international companies engaged in the transport of goods and persons by road with various legal matters regarding their activities.

• Assisting an e-commerce company and its road carrier with respect to the use of a third party's transportation commissioner's license which is mandatory in Belgium.

• Assisting an international parcel delivery company with the provision of a legal opinion on a claim following the loss of a shipment, and the right of the recipient to claim compensation under the Montreal Convention, as well as on the laws applicable to the transport of goods under controlled temperature (medicines, vaccines, cut flowers, food)

• Assisting an international parcel delivery services company with the terms and conditions of a new service launched by the client, enabling the transport of fresh food products under controlled temperature in the format of a parcel delivery service

• Advising an American mobility as a service (MaaS) provider on all aspects of its activities relating to Belgian federal and regional legislation

• Assisting a renowned jewellery manufacturer and retailer in the context of the Belgian legislation specific to the transport of jewelery, for which a specialised transport company is required for individual or collections of jewelry items with a total value exceeding EUR 30,000/truck

• Advising an American MaaS provider on the possibility of conducting background checks and /or storing judicial data in the context of its collaboration with LVC companies and drivers

• Defending the interests of an international parcel delivery service following a breach of contract with a subcontractor for lack of a valid license

AVIATION

Assisting and advising national and international airports, airlines and key actors in the field of aviation with various legal matters related to their operations.

• Assisting Brussels Airlines in the context of its EUR 290 million State aid application to address the COVID-19 pandemic

• Advising and representing a Spanish airline before the Belgian courts in the context of passenger claims based on the Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004, establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding, cancellation, or long delay of flights

• Advising a client on the regulatory framework, possible legal routes and legal analysis pertaining to the European Directive 96/67/EC on market access to ground handling activities on EU airports, and its transposition in Belgian royal and ministerial decrees

• Assisting Brussels Airlines in relation to Thomas Cook’s bankruptcy and advising on the operational impact of the imminent bankruptcy and recovery of its claim in Thomas Cook’s bankruptcy proceedings

• Assisting insurers of an airline charter company in Belgium in relation to the settlement of an insurance claim regarding damage to an aircraft engine

• Assisting a leading global corporate insurance carrier and Brussels Airport Company (BIAC) in the handling of claims arising from the terrorist attack at Brussels Airport on 22 March 2016

• Assisting and defending a European multinational aerospace corporation in the context of contractual disputes

• Assisting a Qatar airline in relation to a dispute with an international trade union federation regarding (defamatory) publications and statements made by representatives of the confederation in the media

• Assisting an Irish low-cost airline drafting a Legal Opinion in European law to demonstrate that strikes organised by its employees constitute an extraordinary circumstance under the Regulation 261/2004

SEA

Assisting and advising national and international ports and shipping companies with a wide range of legal services.

• Assisting a group of shipping companies operating both passenger water transport and freight transport on major waterways in Europe in obtaining the lifting of the seizure of a vessel

• Assisted a client in obtaining the release of goods blocked at an international port in East Africa

• Defending a client’s interests in the context of damage of a chartered vessel.

• Defending the interests of a multinational integrated energy and petroleum company following a fluvial transport of 500.000 kg of benzene, causing damage to the goods

RAIL

Assisting and advising national and international railway companies and operators with a wide range of legal services.

• Advising a major railway operator on several matters related a.o. amongst other to the law applicable to international transport where parts of the journey take place exclusively in one country, and to the accessibility of the new operator’s vending machines / automats in the framework of a contract

• Assisting a major railway operator in relation to various commercial contracts

• Assisting an international high-speed rail service with the Belgian Code of Companies and Associations and the obligation from the UK Government to require all passengers to have a negative COVID-19 test before departing France, Belgium, Netherlands to reach the UK

• Assisting a major railway operator in relation to remote documents signature

• Advising a high-speed train operator on a matter concerning the Royal Decree of 03 February 2019 related to the implementation of the law of 25 December 2016 on the processing of passenger name records (PNR), including the obligations for carriers and ticket distributors

• Advising an international high-speed rail service and assisting with legal questions related to the no-deal Brexit preparations of the company

• Advising a major railway operator in relation to a preliminary question to the Court of Justice of the European Union, related to the European regulation on passenger rights

IP/IT/DATA PROTECTION

Assisting and advising national and international organisations with a wide range of IP, IT, Data protection questions

• Advising a German motor vehicle manufacturer on amongst others, data protection related questions, in particular in the context of connected vehicles and the roll-out in Belgium thereof. We also assisted with a data protection assessment of VW ID tool and the response to several questionnaires in this regard, also covering questions of consumer law, online presence and e-commerce practices

• Assisting a company specialised in robotisation and automation of CNC machines with the negotiations and implementation of new contractual clauses for creations developed and created by contractors/employees

• Advising a client on the deployment of new commercial activities regarding e-bikes and e- scooters in Antwerp and Brussels, whether or not the client can conduct background checks and /or store judicial data in the context of collaborating with companies and drivers

• Assisting an aerospace company in the negotiation and drafting of a license and joint development agreement regarding a testing and production line industrial design and performance platform with other large IT multinational corporations, to be used in the aerospace sector, as well as advising on specific IP-related issues

• Assisting a client in the automotive industry with the implementation of a large-scale IT infrastructure revamp, providing ongoing assistance with the drafting and negotiation of IT agreements at play, and assisting with addendums to supplier agreements regarding information security requirements

• Assisting clients with contractual and regulatory opinions for the development of electrical vehicle charging infrastructures in the three regions of the country

COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS

Assisting and advising clients in numerous sectors to determine the most appropriate business scheme, to deal with business-critical situations and to prevent or resolve disputes.

• Assisting a major railway operator in relation to commercial contracts and litigations

• Advising a Belgian airline with measures and claims (interlocutory, substantive, administrative) against or relating to actions from the airport police during holiday periods

• Representing a Belgian airline in a 50M€ litigation as a consequence of the termination of the agreement with its worldwide cargo agent

• Assisting an American mobility as a service provider in relation with the deployment of new commercial activities regarding e-bikes/scooters in Antwerp and Brussels

• Assisting a railway operator in disputes with various parties regarding the impact of COVID-19 on current contracts.

• Assisting a Belgian airline in summary proceedings (forced performance) and damages claims proceedings against skeyes (the Belgian air traffic operator, sometimes called Belgocontrol) as a consequence of repeated closures of the Belgian air space, causing the cancellation of numerous flights

• Representing a Belgian aircraft fueling company in a dispute regarding the amounts invoiced under the sublease amidst the COVID crisis and the substantial decrease of activity

• Assisting a Belgian airline with numerous urgent contractual issues and disputes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent governmental measures

• Assisting a Belgian airline in legal proceedings before the French-speaking Enterprise Court of Brussels against its former component support service provider, as a consequence of the contract termination amidst the COVID -19 crisis

• Assisting a sporting goods retailer in setting up recalls of defective bikes in cooperation with the relevant authorities, and in legal proceedings against its supplier to claim compensation for both direct and indirect costs

• Supporting a manufacturer in the automotive industry in relation to claims caused by a defective raw material batch and in successfully dealing with a product recall threat

REGULATORY

• Assisting a railway operator on asbestos risk analysis of the wagons, and advising concerning the adaptation of contracts to limit risks

• Assisting an American mobility as a service provider in several cases before the Council of State and before the Court of Appeal of Brussels related to the national and regional legislations on professional passenger transport (taxi)

• Advising a high-speed train operator and drafting an analysis covering Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Germany concerning an issue related to train path orders

• Assisting a multinational integrated energy and petroleum company on the development of innovative energy business models in Belgium around solar devices and electric vehicles, covering i.a. regulatory, tax, real estate, IP, consumer protection, accounting, labour questions

• Assisting a supplier of software for innovative mobility concepts, as an intervening party in summary (urgent) proceedings and in the annulment procedure before the Council of State

• Assisting a European agency primarily responsible for coordinating border control efforts in a EUR 75 million litigation before the European Court of Justice, related to the award of a contract for maritime surveillance services using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones)

• Assisting an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety in a dispute relating to the award of a major IT outsourcing framework agreement

• Assisting the Brussels Capital Region with disputes over the overflight of Brussels by airplanes to/from the Zaventem national airport.