Car makers can face dieselgate suits where cars bought: EU court adviser

03 April 2020 - 09:07 By Reuters
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EU consumers should be able to sue car makers like Volkswagen in their national courts if they have bought cars with emission cheat devices installed, an adviser to the Court of Justice of the EU said on Thursday.
EU consumers should be able to sue car makers like Volkswagen in their national courts if they have bought cars with emission cheat devices installed, an adviser to the Court of Justice of the EU said on Thursday.
Image: Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images

EU consumers should be able to sue car makers in their national courts if they have bought cars with emission cheat devices installed, an adviser to the Court of Justice of the EU said on Thursday.

The opinion, if followed by Europe's top court, raises the possibility that Volkswagen could face masses of legal complaints from consumers across the EU.

Contacted by Reuters, VW had no immediate comment.

The case followed a request from an Austrian court handling a claim by the Austrian consumer association VKI on behalf of 574 owners of manipulated vehicles. The court wanted to know if it had jurisdiction to hear the case.

Advocate general Campos Sanchez-Bordona said the general rule was that applicants should sue in courts where the defendant is domiciled. However, in cases of tort there was also the possibility of suing in the courts of the place where a harmful event occurred.

The VKI wants compensation for the difference between the price consumers paid for vehicles, and the value of a manipulated vehicle. It also wants coverage for future damages, such as a drop in the value caused by driving bans.

The advocate general concluded that the place where the damage occurred was the place where the car was bought.

“A company can be sued by the purchasers of vehicles that it manipulated before the courts of the member state where the vehicles were purchased,” the court said in a statement.

The court typically rules within two to four months of such opinions. Judges follow them in the majority of cases, but are not bound to do so.

VW fitted 360,000 vehicles in Austria with defeat devices, according to a report by the European Commission.

The company admitted in 2015 to using illegal software to cheat US diesel engine tests, a scandal that has cost it more than $30 billion (roughly R556,872,000,000) in vehicle refits, fines and provisions.

Nearly all US owners of affected cars agreed to take part in a $25 billion (roughly R464,060,000,000) settlement in 2016 in the US.

The car maker is in talks with Germany's consumer protection organisation to seek a deal in a class-action lawsuit there.


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