About Thomas
Thomas has more than 20 years of experience as a lawyer. He gained broad experience in civil advisory and litigation practice at a mid-sized Amsterdam law firm and, in 2011, co-founded AMS Advocaten together with three fellow partners. Thomas advises and litigates in the areas of contract law, media law and real estate law.
Style of work
His working style is characterised by strong personal involvement in his clients’ matters, decisiveness and short lines of communication. He is able to quickly identify the core of a dispute and, where appropriate, take immediate action.
In addition to his legal practice, Thomas is affiliated as an expert with the business news platform BusinessInsider.nl.
Track record
Involvement in proceedings concerning the planned Haussmann department store
Thomas was involved, among other things, in lawsuits concerning the luxury department store Haussmann that should have appeared on the Rokin, but where Hudson’s Bay ultimately was established.Representation of Ajax Supporters’ Association in various matters
He also acted in various issues for the Ajax Supporters’ Association.Summary proceedings: FlixBus awarded performance of long-term agreement
For Flixbus, he won summary proceedings in 2019 claiming performance of a continuing performance agreement.Agency dispute: Indonesian commercial agent prevails
In 2022, Thomas successfully represented an Indonesian commercial agent in a dispute about an agency agreement with a Dutch company.Summary proceedings against Facebook over fake account removal
In 2022, he forced Facebook, with a summary proceedings summons, to remove a harmful fake account that targeted his client, a successful entrepreneur.Court of Appeal: extrajudicial annulment of Banksy auction sale upheld
At the end of 2023, Thomas won a case for a well-known auction house at the Court of Appeal in Leeuwarden regarding the extrajudicial annulment of an auction purchase of two artworks by the famous British graffiti artist Banksy.CBRE loses summary proceedings: eviction claim dismissed
At the end of 2024, Thomas won a preliminary injunction case that had been filed by CBRE against his client, an Amsterdam retailer. CBRE demanded eviction, arguing that the lease agreement had ended and that they urgently needed the rented property for their own use due to a renovation of the shopping centre. The Preliminary Relief Judge of the Amsterdam District Court rejected the claims and ordered CBRE to pay the legal costs.Extensive experience in defamation, rectification and damages claims
In addition, Thomas has extensive experience in proceedings in the areas of unlawful publication, slander and defamation, rectification and damages.‘Revenge porn’ case: Facebook ordered to disclose data of fake account
In 2015, he won the widely-known “revenge pornography in summary proceedings” against Facebook, which was widely reported in the Dutch press. The Amsterdam judge ordered Facebook to provide the information behind a fake account. Thomas also assisted the Association of Netherlands Dentists (ANT) in connection with a large background article in the national newspaper NRC and won a lawsuit about an unlawful publication in De Telegraaf.Court rules De Telegraaf publication unlawful due to lack of factual basis
Thomas also represented the Dutch Association of Dentists (ANT) in connection with a major background article in the NRC and won a lawsuit concerning an unlawful publication in De Telegraaf.Sommelier ordered to publish rectification after unfounded racism allegations
In 2022, he successfully argued in summary proceedings before the Amsterdam District Court on behalf of Dutch wine importers against a well-known sommelier, who was ordered to print a retraction.Successful complaint before the Dutch Press Council on behalf of eDreams
In 2023, he successfully filed a complaint against the editor-in-chief of Omroep MAX with the Press Council on behalf of online travel agency eDreams.Rectification obtained following harmful newspaper article
In 2024, Thomas secured a retraction of a defamatory article that harmed his client's reputation in the Leeuwarder Courant.Summary proceedings won: court rules SP statements unlawful
Thomas won summary proceedings against the Socialist Party (SP). The preliminary relief judge held that the accusations and suspicions voiced by the SP could not be substantiated and were insufficiently concrete, and therefore qualified as unlawful.Recent blogs
All blogsHow seeking publicity can work against you in court
At the end of September, rather special summary proceedings were brought before the preliminary relief judge in Leeuwarden, in which Jeugdhulp Friesland had to justify the intended publication of a research report about a minor girl. Her parents demanded a ban on that report being published. Media lawyer Thomas van Vugt discusses the verdict. Anonymised […]
Commission at the end of the agency agreement
Pursuant to Article 7:442 Paragraph 1 of the Dutch Civil Code, an agent is, in principle, entitled to commission at the end of the agency agreement. A number of requirements have been set in law for this. In this blog, contract law attorney Thomas van Vugt discusses the commission liability at the end of the […]
Breaking off negotiations was not unlawful
For many years, the parties had been conducting negotiations with each other on the future lease of a space in a new construction project. After the defendant withdrew from the project, the project developer held the defendant liable for the damage suffered. At the end of last year, the Limburg District Court rejected the claim: the defendant […]
Practice areas register
Thomas has registered as principal areas of law in the register of legal areas of the Dutch Bar Association: law of obligations and real estate law. On the basis of this registration, he is obliged to obtain ten training credits in each registered principal legal area per calendar year, according to the standards of the Dutch Bar Association.