6 people died and 16 were wounded because Tristan van der Vlis shot at them in the De Ridderhof shopping center (Alphen aan den Rijn) on April 9, 2011. Van der Vlis could legally possess firearms because he had been granted a firearms permit by the Hollands Midden police region shortly beforehand.
Beer advocaten started proceedings for surviving relatives and victims at the District Court of The Hague. In doing so, the court was asked to rule that the police are liable for the consequences of Van der Vlis' use of the weapon. The District Court of The Hague issued its ruling on February 4, 2015. According to the court, although the police acted unlawfully by issuing a gun permit, they are not held liable for the damages of the victims of the shooting. For more information see here The anonymized verdict with explanations. On behalf of the victims and next of kin, this verdict was appealed. Pleadings on appeal took place on December 4, 2017.
On March 27, 2018, the Hague Court of Appeal ruled ruling done. The court ruled in favor of the victims and relatives and ordered the police to pay compensation for the material and immaterial damages resulting from the shooting with Tristan van der Vlis' firearm. The court found the police liable because a gun permit was issued to Tristan van der Vlis despite the psychological problems he had.
At the request of several relatives and victims, Beer advocaten is also conducting proceedings against the State of the Netherlands. The object of the proceedings is to obtain the report on Van der Vlis from the Netherlands Institute for Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology. This report provides insight into the mental state of Van der Vlis, as a result of which he should not have been granted a firearms permit. Meanwhile, Attorney General Langemeijer has issued a advice issued to the Supreme Court. In it, he states that the court used too strict criteria in rejecting the victims' and relatives' request for access to Tristan van der Vlis' psychiatric report. At ruling of July 10, 2015, the Supreme Court followed the Solicitor General in his conclusion and ruled that the Amsterdam Court of Appeal will have to assess whether the NIFP report should be provided to the relatives and victims.
Furthermore, Beer advocaten discovered that Van der Vlis had taken out liability insurance. The insurer appeared willing to pay out the total insured amount of €454,000 to all the victims and next of kin incurred by Van der Vlis. In April 2014, the Gouda subdistrict court appointed a liquidator of Van der Vlis' estate, to which the insured amount belongs. A year later, the liquidator advised on the distribution of the insured amount of the liability insurance among the entitled parties. On that basis, the victims and next of kin received their due share of the insured amount in July 2015.
Beer advocaten assists some of the bereaved and victims through the process of liability and compensation. For more information, please contact John Beer or Christa Wijnakker; they can also be reached at telephone number +31206732199.
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