In a ruling on December 12, 2025, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands rejected the cassation appeal filed by Jairo Alejandro Ortega Carvajal against Management (GAZM) and other related companies. With this decision, the highest judicial authority has brought a final conclusion to a legal dispute that lasted more than eight years.
Background of the case
The case arose from a commercial agreement between Ortega Carvajal and a group of local companies affiliated with GAZM for the development of a 14-unit apartment complex in Aruba. According to the court records, the local companies fulfilled the contractual requirements and signed the necessary documents to start the project.
However, Ortega Carvajal made this led to a dispute over which party had the legal right to request the annulment of the agreement.
Decisions in previous instances
In the first instance and later on appeal, the Joint Court of Justice concluded that Ortega Carvajal failed in his main payment obligation and that the local companies had the right to request the annulment of the agreement. The court determined that Ortega Carvajal had not complied with the contract since October 2018.
The court also rejected Ortega’s claim for compensation of approximately 1.8 million guilders, which he asserted was investment in the project. According to the ruling, insufficient evidence was presented to support the claim, and the court expressed doubts about the magnitude of the alleged expenses.
Additionally, the court ordered Ortega Carvajal to pay the legal costs of the opposing parties, estimated at approximately 60,000 guilders.
Supreme Court ruling
Following the unfavorable decision of the court on July 30, 2024, Ortega Carvajal filed a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court. However, the Supreme Court determined that the grounds presented were insufficient to annul the lower court’s ruling.
The court indicated that extensive reasoning was not necessary under Article 81 of the Judicial Organization Act. Based on this, the Supreme Court decided:
• To reject the cassation appeal;
• To condemn Ortega Carvajal to pay the costs of the cassation process.
The costs were set at €8,206 for court costs and €2,200 for attorney fees, in favor of GAZM et al.
Consequences of the decision
With the Supreme Court’s decision, the cassation appeal has been definitively rejected. Ortega Carvajal must pay over €10,000 in cassation process costs, in addition to the financial obligations already established in earlier rulings.
This decision marks the end of a long civil court process involving multiple instances and significant financial implications for the parties involved.
At present, Alejandro Ortega Carvajal faces damages of approximately 3 million guilders that he will have to pay to the companies harmed.
Supreme Court rejects cassation appeal in case against GAZM Management V.B.A.
