Hurom v NUC Electronics (CoA, 26 May 2026)

Dhenne Avocats · 10 October 2026

Our analysis

Summary

By decision of 26 May 2026 (UPC_CoA_916/2025), the Court of Appeal permitted Hurom to withdraw its appeal against the decision of the Mannheim Local Division of 2 October 2025 (UPC_CFI_162/2024) in its dispute with NUC Electronics over EP 2 028 981, declared the proceedings closed and ordered Hurom to bear NUC’s costs in both instances. The decision is worth noting on two points: the absence of a legitimate interest in a decision where the withdrawing party bears the costs, and the temporal application of the amended Rule 370.9 RoP on reimbursement of court fees.

Question

Does a respondent seeking dismissal of the appeal have a legitimate interest that bars withdrawal, and which reimbursement rate applies to a withdrawal applied for in 2026 in an appeal lodged in 2025?

Decision

Withdrawal is possible until a final decision unless the other party has a legitimate interest in a decision, a rule that applies mutatis mutandis to an appellant (paragraph 12). NUC did not comment within the time allowed (paragraph 13) and, even taking its late statement of response into account, there is no legitimate interest since Hurom bears the costs (paragraph 14). The court set the value of the appeal at EUR 75,000 (paragraph 15) and gave effect to Hurom’s undertaking to bear NUC’s reasonable and proportionate costs in both instances (paragraphs 16 and 17). Amended Rule 370.9 RoP, in force from 1 January 2026, applies to applications lodged after 31 December 2025: the withdrawal application, made before the written procedure closed, attracts reimbursement of 50% of the appeal fees rather than 60% (paragraphs 18 to 22).

Key points for practice

• A respondent cannot block a withdrawal where the appellant undertakes to bear its costs.
• Practical point: the reimbursement rate depends on the date of the withdrawal application, the amended Rule 370.9 RoP applying to applications lodged from 2026.

Provisions applied

Rules of Procedure

Rules 152, 265.1, 265.2(c) and 370.9(b)

Other provisions

Administrative Committee decision of 4 November 2025 amending the table of court fees and the Rules of Procedure

Case law cited

10x v Curio, Court of Appeal, 5 July 2024 (UPC_CoA_234/2024), VMR Products v NJOY Netherlands, Court of Appeal, 9 January 2026

Related decisions

• Court of Appeal, 27 March 2026 (UPC_CoA_409/2025, 410/2025 and 420/2025), decision in the related appeals, following which the appeal was withdrawn.

Prepared by Dhenne Avocats from the official decision, consulted on 10 October 2026. The database is updated every week, on Friday. Only the official text is authoritative.