Almost five years later the outbreak of the rigged diesel engine scandal, the highest German court discusses Tuesday the compensation of cheated customers of Volkswagen, crucial step for tens of thousands of applicants.
Herbert Gilbert, 65, was just one of the car giant’s many unhappy buyers recently. But it is his case, and that of his Volkswagen Sharan diesel acquired in 2014, which will be examined by the German Federal Court.
When Volkswagen admitted in September 2015 that it had equipped 11 million vehicles with software faking their polluting emissions, this retiree whose “The whole family has been driving a VW for 50 years” At first did not believe it. “When VW wrote to tell me that my car was affected, I was shocked and very disappointed”, he said last week at an online press conference hosted by his lawyers. He requests reimbursement of the purchase price and accuses Volkswagen of having cheated on him, while the automobile group pleads for the rejection of his request for absence of damage.
Faked but ” usable “?
As usual, the Court of Karlsruhe should disclose at the opening of the hearing on Tuesday its preliminary opinion, more or less detailed and final on certain key points. Its judgment, which could directly affect the 68,000 pending individual procedures, is not expected until later.
The proceedings date back to October 24, 2017, when Mr. Gilbert filed his initial claim for compensation with the regional court, which dismissed it, before the court of appeal found him right: Volkswagen was then ordered to pay 25,616 euros and resume the vehicle. As the judges considered that the use of the car had to be taken into account, the reimbursement was however lower than the purchase price of 31,490 euros.
Volkswagen and the applicant then appealed, one because he believed that there was no need for a refund and the other to receive the full purchase price. “The obstacles are great for the Court to accept damage for the client” because the car was at all times ” usable “, Volkswagen argues.
Soon in criminal
Counsel for Mr. Gilbert believe that the builder has “Deliberately harmed” to their client, and expect “A key stop” who “Will radiate” on all procedures related to ” dieselgate “.
The hearing comes after an unprecedented and well-attended trial, similar to a “Class action” American-style, bringing together hundreds of thousands of customers in Germany seeking repair for the fake cars, which was formally completed last week.
As part of an amicable agreement, Volkswagen to pay at least 750 million euros to pay between 1,350 and 6,250 euros per vehicle to 235,000 customers.
A sum that may seem modest compared to the more than 30 billion euros that the cost has already “Dieselgate” to the German manufacturer.
Most of this sum – legal fees, fines and compensation – has so far been spent in the United States, in particular to generously compensate customers for the recovery of their vehicles.
Still in civil law, investors are claiming reimbursement for the spectacular fall in Volkswagen’s share price, as part of a group procedure opened in September 2018 and which is yet to last several months.
Finally, in criminal proceedings, this scandal with drawers awaits its epilogue: several group leaders, including the current CEO, Herbert Diess, and the chairman of the supervisory board, Hans Dieter Pötsch, as well as the former boss, Martin Winterkorn, and the former head of the Audi brand, Rupert Stadler, are under investigation and some are already in the ante-room of a trial.
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