1. Preamble:
1.1
Gortyna d.o.o or Gortyna LLC (hereinafter: “Gortyna”) is a Serbian-based company with its head office at Stražilovska 27/1, 21000 Novi Sad, Republic of Serbia.
1.2
The core business of Gortyna is the settlement of cross-border claims in accordance with:
a) the provisions of the Fourth Motor Insurance Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council (2000/26/EC), replaced by Directive 2009/103/EC (hereinafter: “4th Motor Insurance Directive” or “Fourth Motor Insurance Directive”),
b) the provisions of the Internal Regulations of the Council of Bureaux (formerly: London Agreement and Multilateral Guarantee Agreement), hereinafter referred to as the Green Card, and
c) pursuant to individual requests for recourse actions and other services
and is explicitly not designed for consumers.
These Terms and Conditions are to be treated – unless their application has been explicitly waived in writing – as an integral component of the contracts concluded between Gortyna and the client (hereinafter: “Client” or “Clients”). These Terms and Conditions constitute a framework agreement for all legal transactions between the parties.
2. Completion of a contract
The services provided by Gortyna are governed solely by these Terms and Conditions. Gortyna does not recognize any conflicting conditions or any conditions which diverge from the Terms and Conditions of Gortyna unless Gortyna has explicitly consented in writing to their application. Any action taken by Gortyna in the performance of a contract cannot be interpreted as consent to contractual terms which deviate from those of Gortyna.
The contract is considered to have been concluded if Gortyna has sent out a written order confirmation or if the service requested has been performed. Gortyna reserves the right to reject offers and requests without providing reasons, in particular, if the data transmitted are incomplete or implausible or give rise to doubts about their accuracy or if the other party has in the past not settled payment obligations to Gortyna or if a past contractual relationship with that party was terminated on the grounds that the client breached material contractual obligations or if performance of the request appears from the outset to be economically unreasonable or to lack prospects of success. In the event of a rejection, the client has no entitlement to compensation for any damages and/or expenditures incurred in the process.
3. Client’s duty to cooperate
In order to perform the contract diligently and conscientiously, Gortyna requires all the information and documents relevant to the matter which are available to the client. The client consequently has an obligation to provide Gortyna fully and in good time with all the documents and information required for the performance of the contract and to inform Gortyna of any circumstances which might be relevant to the performance of the contract.
4. Warranty/Indemnity
The client has a duty to review all the services performed on his/her behalf without delay and to notify Gortyna in writing of any shortcomings within eight (8) days of the performance of the service, otherwise, the client will forfeit any claim for redress. Gortyna will only accept liability for breach of contract in the event of willful intent or gross negligence.
5. Fee
Unless otherwise agreed, Gortyna will receive in fee of 15 % of the settlement amount but no less than € 250.00. The “settlement amount” is understood to mean the compensation received by the client or the compensation paid to third parties on behalf of the client. Any third-party services will be invoiced separately by Gortyna, subject to the requirement that the client’s written consent must be obtained before a third party is contracted. Gortyna is entitled to invoice for the minimum amount of € 250.00 in the event of a delay caused by the client.
6. Payment terms
Gortyna will invoice for its services upon final completion. Partial invoicing is admissible if Gortyna incurs expenditure of more than € 500.00 or if any compensation outlay or costs were incurred more than 4 months previously. Fees and reimbursements of outlaid compensation are due in full within 30 calendar days of the invoice date. Any payments for which no specific deadlines have been agreed upon must be settled without undue delay. If a payment deadline is agreed upon, payment of a monetary debt by bank transfer will be deemed punctual if the monetary value is definitively credited to the business account of Gortyna by the date of the deadline.
In the event of late payment, default interest will be charged from the date of invoice onwards at the rate of 12 % above the basic interest rate.
7. Early termination of the contract
7.1 General Statement
Either party can withdraw from the contract if, despite a warning, the other party fails to meet its contractual obligations before an appropriate grace period of not less than 1 week has elapsed.
7.1.1 Non-performance of contractual obligations by the client
If Gortyna withdraws from the contract on grounds of non-performance of contractual obligations by the client, Gortyna invoices for the settlement of services previously provided. These include, in particular, external costs and the minimum fee of € 250.00. This provision is without prejudice to any further claims for compensation in accordance with item 7.1 of these Terms and Conditions.
7.1.2 Non-performance of contractual obligations by Gortyna
If the client withdraws from the contract on grounds of non-performance of contractual obligations by Gortyna, Gortyna remains bound by its duty of compensation in accordance with Item 8 of these Terms and Conditions.
7.2 Withdrawal from the Contract due to Economic reasons
Either party can withdraw from the contract if continued performance is not economically reasonable or lacks prospects of success:
7.2.1 Costs required are significantly greater than the potential outcome
The performance of the contract will, in particular, be considered not economically reasonable if the costs required are significantly greater than the potential outcome, or if the performance would significantly delay the period normally to be expected for the handling of the claim in question.
7.2.2 Lack of prospects of success
The performance of the contract will, in particular, be considered to lack prospects of success:
- if, in the enforcement of a claim, the other party to the proceedings either has no resources or is beyond reach;
- if a court settlement appears impossible due to inadequately developed jurisdiction;
- if, following defense against a claim, the claimant does not respond to contact for a lengthy period.
7.3 Termination without justified reason
If the client terminates the contract early without justified reason, Gortyna can invoice for the settlement of services previously provided. These include, in particular, external costs and the minimum fee of € 250.00. This provision is without prejudice to any further claims for compensation.
8. Liability for damages
8.1
Unless otherwise provided here, the mutual liability of the parties is limited in all cases to damages incurred in the course of performing the contractually agreed services. Additional claims, in particular for consequential damage, will not be considered. Moreover, in keeping with the statutory provisions applicable in the jurisdiction, the liability of the parties is limited to willful intent and gross negligence.
8.2
Gortyna cannot be held liable for any third-party damages, lost profit, or indirect or collateral damage. The exemptions from liability listed under Item 7 apply likewise to any claims against employees, contractors, shareholders, officers, or agents of Gortyna.
9. Copyright
Gortyna reserves all rights to any drafts, offers, projects, etc. of which it makes use. The client must not use these documents, including any that did not originate with Gortyna, in any manner not covered by the contract. In particular, they must not be reproduced or made available to third parties, and they must be returned immediately if so requested by Gortyna.
The client has an obligation to indemnify and protect Gortyna against any third-party claims in relation to violations of copyright, neighboring rights, other industrial property rights, and privacy and data rights.
10. Marketing
The Client agrees that Gortyna may issue a press release regarding the Client’s use of Gortyna Services.
Gortyna may publicly refer to the Client as a Client of Gortyna, including on Gortyna’s website, in sales presentations, and in other promotional materials, including, but not limited to brochures and social network posts, and may use the Client’s logo and name for such purposes, free of charge.
Similarly, the Client may publicly refer to itself as a Client of Gortyna on the same terms as stated above.
Both parties agree that all press releases and use of the logo and name of the other party will be done in a professional manner and without the intention to transfer the ownership right to the logo and/or without the intention to discredit the other party or to cause any damage to the other party. The right to use the logo and name for marketing purposes is determined in good faith.
11. Netting
The client is not permitted to offset any receivables currently or purportedly owed to it against receivables invoiced by Gortyna. The client waives any option to balance accounts by netting.
12. Confidentiality and data privacy
The parties undertake mutually to maintain confidentiality with regard to any company or business secrets to which they are given access or which are made available to them, or which come to their knowledge in connection with or on the basis of their commercial relationship.
Gortyna observes all data protection regulations when processing the personal data of the individuals concerned in the performance of services on behalf of the client.
13. Jurisdiction
Serbian law applies. The parties consent to Serbian, domestic jurisdiction. The parties agree that the court at the domicile of Gortyna shall have jurisdiction over any disputes arising from the contract or indirectly derived from it.
14. Severability
If any individual provision or item in these Terms and Conditions is deemed to be void, the remainder of their content shall be no less binding. In the event that this gives rise to a gap in the contract requiring clarification, the ineffective provision will be replaced by an admissible provision that most closely reflects the intention of the parties.