With professional expertise since 1996, we are one of the leading German law firms for yacht owners, yacht buyers, owner-managed shipyards, insurance companies and commercial providers in the water sports industry.
In the area of warranty and insurance claims, we are possibly the leading firm in Germany. We live and breathe watersports, both personally and professionally, and are broadly skilled legal advisors with a down-to-earth approach and a clear focus.
Your law firm for yachts and law
Effective & targeted
Guarantee success
Boatbuilding
Know-how
Security in purchase contracts
Conflict resolution through arbitration
Comprehensive support for businesses
Does this sound familiar?
Osmosis damage to the boat
This is the case we handle most frequently. After the purchase, signs of osmotic blisters appear, which were either fraudulently concealed or which the seller should have been aware of. In no other scenario do we more often find ways to successfully hold the seller liable.
Engine damage
Besides the typical water damage, especially in older sailboats, or piston seizures and severe corrosion damage to engines and drives, the defects found here are often caused by inadequate care and maintenance by the seller. However, this is frequently guaranteed and forms a basis for liability.
Hull damage
From concealed grounding damage to inadequate hull repairs and severe loss of strength in load-bearing components, the range of defect cases that we have successfully dealt with is hard to overlook.
Liability defense
The best way to protect yourself from liability is a sound sales contract and transparency. Unfortunately, the sample sales contracts circulating online often offer numerous loopholes for liability, whether due to poor wording or simply not being a good fit for the specific transaction. We will work with you to develop the optimal and secure solution. To date, none of the sales contracts we have drafted have been challenged in court.
Buying guide
Purchase agreement preparation
Every buying and selling transaction is unique. Since large sums of money and high risks are involved, it makes perfect sense to entrust the contract drafting to professionals. Especially since the costs for this are usually only a small percentage of the purchase price.
Insurance claims
Insurance claims often fail due to misunderstandings and unclear communication. Not every insurance company or insurance assessor works in your best interest. And even when handling repairs, we sometimes encounter questionable behavior from insurance brokers and agents. Having a competent partner on your side from the outset usually saves you time and hassle.
Workmanship defects
When disputes arise regarding the outcome of shipyard work, these can have very different legal causes and lead to complex warranty-related issues that are generally unfamiliar to non-lawyers. We will work with you to develop a solution that achieves the desired outcome without creating problems elsewhere.
Yacht/boat purchase and sale, purchase agreement
- Legal advice on issues relating to contract, appraisal and risks when buying a yacht or boat (also in English); our typical price range is from €10,000 to €10 million.
- Legal review of yacht sales offers, prospectuses from yacht brokers, coordination of the purchase transaction (also in English)
- Finding suitable boatbuilding experts or other technical experts and coordinating with them regarding risks and warranty-relevant inspection steps.
- Drafting, negotiating and reviewing boat/yacht purchase contracts or construction contracts for the new build of a yacht (also in English)
- Advice on avoiding warranty/liability claims when selling your yacht/boat
- Insolvency protection for yacht orders and down payments
- Ensuring CE conformity and enforcing the CE marking in coordination with certification bodies and assessors
- Acting as an arbitrator/mediator in legal disputes concerning the purchase of a boat/yacht
Warranty, material defects, liability for defects
- Flat-rate initial check - Fast and cost-effective initial assessment
- Warranty service
- Legal advice and negotiation in case of yacht defects or other defects in your yacht or sports boat or your equipment
- Legal assistance for osmosis damage more
- Review of exclusions of liability for defects and warranties in standard form yacht purchase contracts and enforcement of liability for defects despite contractual warranty exclusions
- Legal support for independent evidence proceedings
- Consulting in the border area between boatbuilding technology/construction and procedural issues of evidence presentation
- Out-of-court and court enforcement of warranty claims (subsequent performance, price reduction or damages and rescission due to serious defects in your purchased yacht/boat) – also within the framework of mediation and arbitration proceedings.
- Acting as an arbitrator/mediator in cases of defects/warranty claims on your yacht/boat
- Legal coaching and further training for boatbuilding experts to improve quality
One-off and series production projects
- Drafting, negotiating and reviewing construction contracts and project contracts
-
Legal project coordination for larger one-off and series production projects
- Ensuring CE conformity and enforcing the obtaining of CE marking
- Legal support for independent evidence proceedings
- Out-of-court and judicial enforcement of claims for subsequent performance and rescission due to serious defects, also within the framework of mediation and arbitration proceedings.
- Insolvency protection for construction projects and advance payments
- Activity as an arbitrator
- Securing all legal positions of customers/owners vis-à-vis shipyards, designers, project managers and suppliers
Yacht insurance
- Advice and representation in cases of yacht damage, collision, grounding, accident, sinking
- Advice and representation vis-à-vis opposing parties in accidents and insurance companies
- Representation of yacht insurance companies and injured yacht owners
- Specialists for skipper's liability insurance
- Enforcement of claims in multi-party relationships, as often occurs after a damage incident
- Drafting of insurance clauses
Legal advice, representation and defense in cases involving:
- Drunkenness in maritime traffic
- Fines issued under MARPOL IV for water pollution
- Violations of traffic rules and equipment regulations
- Impending loss of recreational boating license/patent
- Violations according to BVKatBinSee
Your YACHT LAW Lawyer
Jochen-Patrick (JP) Kunze is a sea and regatta sailor who sails both offshore and inshore, but prefers the Baltic Sea with his JPK 38 and other high-performance yachts. He provides legal advice and negotiation services in German and English and is not afraid of complex cases and large sums of money. As a lawyer, he is adept at all escalation strategies and employs them appropriately for each case.
German lawyer admitted to practice. Active throughout Europe. Licensed referee of the German Sailing Association for sailing regattas.
Languages: German, English, (Danish)
- Work at a Swedish charter company and sailing instructor at the Kiel Yacht Club
- 3 decades of regattas and championships inshore, offshore and one design in Northern Europe, Kiel Week organization
- Law studies at the Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel
- Lawyer in a supra-regional office of lawyers, tax advisors and auditors
- Ownership, project coordination and legal support for a European series production project (Clark 33 retro classic) 2010 - 2018
-
Since 1996, strategic and comprehensive legal support for shipyards, yacht designers, maritime service providers and discerning yacht owners
- Extensive forensic experience in all German courts and litigation experience in the areas of yacht purchase, warranty/liability for defects and rescission
- Working as a mediator/referee in the water sports industry
- Specialist publications and lecture events on yacht purchases, liability for defects/warranty, civil and labor law issues in the water sports industry
Your YACHT LAW Lawyer
Maximilian Leßner is a lawyer with a passion for his work and a sailor since childhood. He grew up on the North Sea coast and sailed single-handed on the North and Baltic Seas. He has published several books about his solo sailing trips with Delius Klasing Verlag. His legal specialty lies in complex insurance law issues related to yacht use and the water sports industry.
German lawyer license, active throughout Europe.
Legal proceedings in German and English
- A passionate solo and cruising sailor. He has published a blog, lectures, and books about his travels in the North and Baltic Seas, which he maintained for several years
- Work experience alongside studies at an international law firm specializing in maritime law
- Studies at the Bucerius Law School in Hamburg
- Work as a lawyer in renowned commercial law firms in Hamburg
- Legal support for demanding yacht owners and yacht insurance companies in yacht insurance law
- Extensive forensic activity in large yacht hull and yacht liability claims
- Extensive experience in regulatory disputes with comprehensive and liability insurers, even with high coverage amounts
- Specialist publications and lectures on yacht insurance law, case law in insurance law