Having a dispute with a trustee? Walk the right path!

I am regularly appointed trustee in bankruptcy. That is a beautiful profession: trying to achieve the best result for the creditors by reselling a company in the best possible way, by collecting receivables, and by tackling fraud and harming creditors.

It is diverse every day: sometimes legal, sometimes very practical. In addition to knowledge of the law, there are all kinds of skills involved. These include communication, psychology, business administration, accounting and commercial skills. And you have to make many decisions, often under intense pressure, in complex situations, taking into account the interests of many different parties. And these interests are often contradictory. If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.

Excitement and heat in the kitchen, wonderful! But not always...

In late 2017, I was threatened (as trustee) by a director whom I had held liable in the interests of creditors. The gentleman then came to my home in the evening and told me that "I shouldn't bother him." In itself the words weren't too bad, but he had picked my home address and had just served a few months in prison for shooting a business partner, so not a nice figure. And you know that threat is always done with neat words and subtly....

As a result of that personal experience, I drew the attention of the Ministry of Justice and Security to the threat to trustees via a so-called citizen's letter and called for harsher punishment for it. The Minister's response is satisfying. The Minister shares my opinion and considers an offence against a trustee criminally aggravated by analogy with Safety Public Task (VPT): ".... This means that in case of demonstrated aggression or an offence of violence against a trustee, the prosecutor, pursuant to the Guideline Framework for Criminal Procedure (2012A001), can claim an increased sentence of plus 200%, just as in the case of VPT...". So that means that just like insulting or threatening an ambulance driver, municipal or tax official or a police officer, an offense committed against a trustee can also be punished 3 times as severely!

Of course, you may have a disagreement with a trustee one day: after all, it's about money and there's always a shortage of that in bankruptcy. But then approach a good bankruptcy lawyer. Preferably one who also acts as a trustee himself. He or she can help you in the discussion with the trustee, in going to the bankruptcy judge, to the civil commercial chamber for summary proceedings or proceedings on the merits, to the review committee at INSOLAD or to the (local) Dean of the Dutch Bar Association at attorneys. Because those are the legal avenues for settling a dispute with a trustee. And if you take that other path: then you have a heavy sanction to fear and in any case I will not act for you.