Make law, not war

Several large retail chains are disappearing from our streets. On December 31, 2015, V&D was declared bankrupt; on November 13, 2024, it was Blokker's turn. There is also a chain that is actually doing very well. A chain where children can fortunately still get their school agendas, magazines, soccer cards and Pokemon cards. A chain whose colorful stature screams, ‘kids come in. It fills my generation with a nostalgic feeling. This was the kind of store where I squandered my money on Panini plates, I had to choose between the O'Neill or VI school calendar and secretly looked at the ’big people magazines‘ with a slanted eye. Fortunately, this store has not disappeared from the scene. It is now being accomplished by Primera. Where toy stores disappear, Primera manages to exist as an attractive chain for children. How did the organization manage to maintain that formula? The answer lies hidden behind counters in neutral cabinets. Cupboards that can only be opened after showing proof of identity. Cabinets that thereby take on something magical. You only become part of that mystical world when you grow up. In those cabinets are cigarettes and vapes, deadly products that can be sold legally. Deadly products, the very products we did not want to be attractive to our children. Deadly products, which this concept makes almost mythical. A chain where the nostalgic image for my generation is tarred (which of course is tobacco-related). Who is actually behind Primera? This is a cooperative supported by two, as Primera itself puts it, ’leading companies in the tobacco industry,“[1] namely British American Tobacco The Netherlands B.V. and Royal Agio Cigars. In 2004, ”TabakNee‘ reported on Primera's expansion following the ban on selling tobacco for supermarkets[2]. On Primera.nl, Primera likes to tell about its concept itself: ’Among other things, this cooperation has now resulted in the largest organization in the tobacco and convenience sector with more than 530 stores.“ And, ”Our stores can make use of a highly professional service package from the head office consisting of marketing, assortment management, store automation, store design, financing and (business and legal) business advice.“[3]” Philip Morris is also stirring. Pointer[4] writes that the tobacco industry is working with supermarket operators to open tobacco stores right next to the supermarket. A documentary including reaction from Philip Morris can be seen at https://youtube.com/watch?v=Y70RQXyPz30&si=ygIxSWl1UkhOMxUY. The tobacco lobby is very strong and takes every opportunity to challenge protective new legislation. The tobacco companies are doing everything they can to also get our children (the new generation of customers) addicted again. The health damage is collateral damage for something that (as Philip Morris itself points out in the documentary) ‘is simply their business model. As a lawyer, but more importantly as a father, I want to speak out against it. Children must be protected from this sickening industry. We are exploring options to take legal action on behalf of children. If you are a parent or educator of a child who has been sickened by vaping, I would love to hear your story. [1] https://www.primera.nl/media/pdf/PRI_20033_Wervingsbrochure_210x148_BLZ_LR_v1.pdf [2] https://www.tabaknee.nl/tabakslobby/de-mensen-achter-de-lobby/item/2942-in-juli-is-primera-de-grootste-tabaksverkoper-van-nederland [3] https://www.primera.nl/over-primera [4] https://pointer.kro-ncrv.nl/hoe-de-tabaksindustrie-de-effecten-van-het-supermarktverbod-om-zeep-helpt

In 2020, two-year-old Awaab Ishak died in England after prolonged exposure to mold in his parents' rental home. The housing authority knew there were mold problems in the home. Yet it placed the blame on the family: they would not ventilate enough and shower and cook too much. After Awaab died, it turned out that the mold spores from the home were in his airways. His immune system responded with chronic inflammation, creating granulomas in his airways (tiny inflammatory nodules that form when the immune system cannot clear a harmful substance). These continued to swell until eventually he could no longer breathe. Awaad died of acute respiratory distress, suffocation and eventually cardiac arrest. The case led to Awaab's Law in England. That law requires landlords of social housing to fix moisture and mold problems within strict deadlines. If they cannot, the landlord must provide replacement housing. Awaab's death shows what can happen when mold in homes is not taken seriously. Pediatricians in the Netherlands also report regularly seeing children growing up in damp and moldy homes with chronic cough symptoms, respiratory infections and asthma. These health problems often lead to school absenteeism and negatively affect development and educational opportunities. No one wants to live with their children in a moldy home. But what if there are no alternatives? If there's only one bedroom, moving is financially unfeasible and the housing authority won't step in? This is common and a major problem. Nieuwsuur speaks of a national mold problem that occurs in about 29% of Dutch housing association properties. A tenant is not empty-handed. A housing corporation can be held liable through civil law: when reports and complaints about mold have been structurally ignored; there is a structural defect in the home (such as a leak or poor ventilation); the landlord has taken no or insufficient action and the problems persist; tenants have done their best to limit moisture; there is health damage. At Beer advocaten, we are committed to helping residents who are struggling with severe mold problems, developing health issues and not being heard by their landlord. Are you concerned about mold in your home? Or about the health of you or your children? If so, contact us for advice and support.

Your peers are buying a first home, getting married, or acquiring more space for the children coming up. Meanwhile, you are standing still. Not because you want to, but because a traffic accident or medical error has turned your life upside down. We regularly hear that stagnant feeling from our clients. And it affects us. Because behind the personal injury file is always an ordinary life - with wishes, plans and dreams that also simply continue. Buying your own home is often one of them. How benefits can get in the way of your mortgage Anyone who becomes totally disabled due to an accident usually ends up on IVA benefits. IVA stands for Inkomensvoorziening Volledig Arbeidsongeschiktten: a benefit of 75% of your last salary, up to a legal maximum. This directly affects what you can borrow. Banks base the maximum mortgage on your income. Someone who could get a €400,000 mortgage with a good salary before the accident has significantly less borrowing room with IVA benefits. In today's housing market, a difference of, say, a ton is easily the difference between a suitable home and one that just isn't going to be it. Added to this are two other consequences that don't always get the attention they deserve in personal injury litigation. Because of the accident or medical error, a person has often been unable to save for years. Own money to supplement the mortgage is simply not there. And anyone who would have had a career without the accident would be earning more now than in the year of the accident. That wage growth does not count in an income test. These are collateral consequences of the accident that are not noticeable at first glance, but have great practical impact in the long run. What we have been able to arrange for our clients Personal injury law is at its core about one principle: restoration to the situation before the accident. Not only financially on paper, but also in everyday life. If someone had already bought a home without the accident, or would reasonably have done so in the next few years, that loss is part of the total damages. It is part of it. In several cases, we have found liable parties willing to pay out a substantial advance so that our client was still able to buy a home. Such an advance payment, in legal parlance called an advance payment “under general title,” is an interim payment on the total damages to be determined. It allows someone to act in advance, without the final settlement having to be completed. The result: a client who was able to return to a stage of life that their peers had long since reached. Small in legal terms. Big in real life terms. Two concerns not to be missed Using a down payment to purchase a home involves two practical risks that we always clearly explain to our clients. Money tied up in bricks is no longer free money. An advance on future expenses, such as for household help or medical care, is no longer