Presentation
The firm advises French and foreign companies in the various stages of public contracts implementation, including preparing their submissions to formal calls for competition (public procurements, concessions, etc.) or more informal calls (public property occupancy contracts), handling review procedures concerning the award in case of unlawful elimination or challenge by other tenderers, and managing performance difficulties (financial claim, termination, damages) in both contractual then litigation phases.
PUBLIC LAW
We advised on the qualification of the contract for a bulk terminal as part of the examination of the legality of the tender issued by an autonomous port; on the legality of the free supply of medical equipment for which a tender was subsequently issued; on the ordering of works and purchase of softwares without competitive bidding from a public interest grouping and an economic interest grouping in which institutions of public law were members; on the termination of maintenance contracts grounded on the holder's infringement of the consumer code,
We advised a services company on the bidding process, performance and extension of public property occupancy contracts concluded with hospitals and operators of urban public transport networks,
We advised on the possibility of transferring to a third party the usufruct held by a mobile telephone operator on relay towers built on public property under an occupancy contract,
We handled the contract management and drafted the financial claim relating to energy consumption over-costs of penal institutions built and operated under a PFI contract,
We prepared a claim for cost overruns in the construction of a digital network under a public service concession, and handled the contractual management of a dispute between the concessionaire and the constructor in the context of the sale of the concessionaire,
As part of an ICC arbitration between a motorway concessionaire and a foreign Government, we provided advice on the legality of the award procedure, its effects on that of the contract and the concessionaire’s compensation in the event of contract nullity.
The firm advises French and foreign companies in the various stages of public contracts implementation, including preparing their submissions to formal calls for competition (public procurements, concessions, etc.) or more informal calls (public property occupancy contracts), handling review procedures concerning the award in case of unlawful elimination or challenge by other tenderers, and managing performance difficulties (financial claim, termination, damages) in both contractual then litigation phases.
Urban planning and commercial facilities regulation
We monitored local urban plan revision procedures to allow the establishment of a luxury hotel in the Alpes Maritimes in France, and of a major household equipment store in Vaucluse,
We audited the applications to be filed by property developers to obtain building and operating permits for commercial facilities in Avignon and Bègles,
For large-scale distributors, we have handled appeals against commercial operating permits, as well as the defense of such permits, before the CNAC (national board enforcing commercial facilities regulation) and the administrative courts,
We advised on the legal regime applicable to brand changes and modifications to the type of business, on the implementation of regulations governing outdoor advertisements, store signs and notice signs,
We advised on the compatibility with urban planning regulations of renovation work carried out on the INSEP (elite sport national institute) under a PFI contract,
We represented a mobile telephone operator in several lawsuits concerning the granting of building permits,
We represented an energy producer in appeals against a permit to build a wind farm in Moselle.
The firm assists professionals from retailing and distribution, real-estate and film industries with their commercial facilities projects, in securing their compatibility with urban planning and commercial facilities regulations (audit of applications), as well as in handling litigation concerning the building and commercial operating permits required for such projects. We also assert the observations of our clients in the consultation and public inquiry phases of local urban planning documents modification procedures, and if necessary, challenge before the administrative courts the regulations ultimately approved by the local authority.
Development
We have advised Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCI) on the jurisdiction and procedures for the creation of an urban development zone (ZAC) in the context of a dispute with an EPCI (inter-municipal cooperation undertaking) over the initiative and management of the project; on the contractual engineering needed to build a car-park under public property, jointly financed with a municipality; and on the ownership of roads and other networks in an industrial estate in the context of a dispute between the CCI, an EPCI and several municipalities over payment of renovation works,
For a property developer, we challenged before the administrative court the award to a competitor of a development concession contract for a shopping area in Haute-Garonne.
The firm advises public bodies on legal engineering to carry out development public projects, and handles litigation related to the award of development concession agreements.
Expropriation and pre-emption
We appealed public-interest declarations and notices of expropriation adopted for the construction of Ambroise Paré Hospital in Boulogne-Billancourt, the Docks urban development zone in Saint Ouen, and the creation of a public road in Pontoise,
We brought appeals before the expropriation judge as part of the extension of line 14 of the Paris subway and line B of the Toulouse subway,
We advised on the surrender of land expropriated by a Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
The firm represents companies in the real-estate sector facing pre-emption decisions or public-interest expropriation procedures, both during the public inquiry phase and before the administrative courts for relevant actions, or in the judicial courts for litigation concerning expropriation compensation or the surrender of expropriated properties.
Administrative liability
We brought an action for damages against a township committee for operating losses caused to a large-scale distributor by public works exectued nearby the commercial facility,
We advised and brought actions for damages suffered by the operator in the performance of government contracts (hospital building lease, public procurement) abandoned by the public body,
We defended a large-scale distributor whose guarantee was activated by the Government in an action for damages brought by a competitor on the irregularity of a commercial operating permit granted to the distributor,
We defended a mobile telephone operator whose equipment caused the collapse of a public structure owned by an inter-municipal undertaking and commercially operated by a third party.
The firm advises economic operators in liability proceedings brought before administrative court by or against public bodies following damages related to public works, illegal administrative decisions (e.g. abandoning of projects) or the operation of public utilities provided by local authorities.
Regulatory
We provided advice on the requirement of a prior administrative authorisation for the import of air guns, and on the regularity under European law, and by analogy French law, of a restriction imposed by foreign regulations on the import of war equipment, assimilated products and dual-use items,
As part of a lawsuit before the British courts regarding a patent infringement by the tenderer to whom was awarded a contract by the French Ministry of Justice, we were involved in Court as an expert for a party on the application of the French law of 26 July 1968 on the communication of economic, commercial, industrial, financial or technical documents and information to foreign natural or legal persons, and on the communication of defense classified information,
We brought an action for an industrial manufacturer before the dispute settlement board of the Regulatory Commission of Energy on the legality of price changes applicable to the power supply of a plant,
We advised on the financial contributions applicable to household waste recycling, on cross-border transportation of industrial waste and on the obligations relative to eco-design of industrial products,
We advised on the transfer of images out of the national territory as part of the implementation of a CCTV system in retail stores,
We advised on the implementation of the French law of 30 September 1986 on freedom of communication capping the stakes held by foreign companies in firms holding authorisations issued by the CSA (independent public service authority supervising the television and radio industries).
The firm is consulted by French and foreign businesses, either directly or through their regular lawyers, about regulations specific to certain activities.