Volkswagen To Appeal Court Ruling for Dieselgate Compensation – Equities News

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Volkswagen Group (OTC:  VWAGY) plans to appeal a Dutch court order to compensate owners of vehicles that were fitted with illegal software designed to cheat emissions tests.

The District Court in Amsterdam ruled Wednesday that buyers of new Volkswagen, Audi, Seat and Skoda vehicles that were rigged are each entitled to compensation of 3,000 euros ($3,538), while owners of a second-hand car should get 1,500 euros apiece. 

The mass claim, brought against the automaker on behalf of 150,000 car owners by Stitching Car Claim, could cost Volkswagen between 225 million euros and 450 million euros altogether.

The order stems from the 2015 Dieselgate scandal, in which the German automaker eventually admitted to using fraudulent software that cut nitrogen emissions to make diesel engines appear cleaner during environmental compliance tests.

The scandal has cost Volkswagen more than 31 billion euros in fines, recall costs, legal fees and refits led to the resignation of former chief executive Martin Winterkorn.

Following Wednesday’s verdict, Volkswagen issued a statement to Reuters, saying, “We believe that car owners in the Netherlands have not suffered any economic loss because of the issue.”

“All vehicles are safe and roadworthy, and no loss in their trade value resulted in the Dutch market because of the issue, as has been confirmed by external valuation experts,” Volkswagen said.

Volkswagen is also seeking to overturn court orders to compensate car buyers in other countries, including Germany and Spain.  

Earlier this month, Volkswagen launched an appeal against an Italian court order to pay 3,300 euros ($3,900) plus interest to each of the more than 63,000 car owners who joined a class-action lawsuit. 

In June, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the state of Ohio could sue Volkswagen for cheating US diesel emissions tests. Volkswagen has said that it would appeal this ruling to the US Supreme Court.

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Source: Equities News