VW diesel lawsuits: 2022 still a lot of work for lawyers and the BGH

The civil law processing of the emissions scandal is likely to keep the German auto industry busy in 2022 – despite the comparisons already made and the first fundamental judgments. At Volkswagen, where “Dieselgate” started over six years ago, consumers and corporate lawyers expect further decisions by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) from February onwards.

Still open: statute of limitations, compensation, sole plaintiff

In Karlsruhe, until March, the issue will again be about the exact cases in which claims for damages due to the depreciation of vehicles with manipulated emissions cleaning are statute-barred. In addition, there is the question of whether diesel owners still have the prospect of compensation if VW has informed the financial markets about the “diesel issue” when they buy a car. Oral negotiations are planned for this, but the Federal Court of Justice has basically rejected the liability of the car manufacturer for such late purchases. Possible compensation for leasing customers remains a similarly complex issue. Additional dates are due for April.

A few large chunks were cleared away in the past year. According to VW, until February 2021, the eligible owners of cars with the “scandal engine” EA189 mostly accepted their offer of damages, which had been negotiated in 2020 as part of the model declaratory action with the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (vzbv).

Around 244,000 diesel drivers from the group’s brands opted for it. A number of other customers were not satisfied with the comparison package and went on to complain on their own. In May 2020, the BGH issued a landmark judgment on those cases that had reached it – as a result, VW said it had reached an agreement with more than 40,000 additional customers so far.

(tiw)