VW loses in the exhaust gas scandal: Supreme Court awards customers damages!

Recently updated on September 22, 2023 at 12:46 am

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VW suffered a bitter defeat in the emissions scandal today: The Federal Court of Justice (BGH), the highest court in Germany, ordered Volkswagen to pay damages to a VW driver. The complaining VW customer now receives a good 25.000 euros from the Wolfsburg car manufacturer and can return the manipulated vehicle. This consumer-friendly ruling is a milestone in the handling of the emissions scandal!

VW exhaust scandal: cheating software manipulates exhaust gas cleaning

The plaintiff VW driver bought a used VW Sharan in January 2014 for around 31.000 euros. The car runs on a 2-liter EA189 diesel engine, which was developed and produced by VW itself. In 2015, the VW emissions scandal became public: Volkswagen installed a defeat device in many diesel vehicles. Cheating software manipulates the emissions control system. This means: During a test situation at the registration authorities, the car completely cleaned the exhaust gases and filtered out harmful nitrogen oxides. All legal emission limits were met. The VW Sharan received the Euro 5 emissions standard and was approved for road use.

On the road, however, the Sharan no longer met the prescribed limits because the car recognized that it was no longer in a test situation. The cheat software in the engine control inhibited the emission control or even switched it off completely. The result: The Sharan blew far more harmful emissions into the air than allowed. These emissions contribute to poor air quality in cities and provoke driving bans.

Consumer-friendly BGH judgment in the VW exhaust scandal!

The BGH ruled today: VW had intentionally caused immoral damage to the complaining customer - i.e. had intentionally harmed the customer. The reason: The VW customer concluded a sales contract that he would not have signed if he had known about the manipulative shutdown device. After all, who wants to be cheated and drive a car that is dirtier and more harmful than advertised by the manufacturer? The fact that VW manipulated systematically, lengthily and worldwide further justifies the claim for damages, according to the BGH in its ruling.

Volkswagen now has to pay back the purchase price to the complaining Sharan driver. However, a so-called usage fee is deducted from the approximately 31.000 euros that the used car cost. This deduction is made because the plaintiff has already driven the car - in the current case around 20.000 kilometers. So around 6.000 euros are deducted from the purchase price, so that the Sharan driver now receives a good 25.000 euros. There are also interest that VW has to pay to the customer. VW takes back the dirty Sharan - the customer had already deregistered the vehicle because he didn't want to drive it anymore.

Now deliver dirty diesel and buy a new car

Today's judgment is good news for all VW diesel drivers who are affected by the exhaust gas scandal. Because: You now have the chance to file a lawsuit, receive compensation and hand in your dirty diesel. You can use the large sum of damages to buy a newer, more environmentally friendly vehicle.

However, there is one exception: diesel drivers who have accepted the VW settlement offer can no longer sue. The Federal Association of Consumer Organizations and Volkswagen recently negotiated a settlement. The condition: Anyone who accepts the offer is no longer allowed to take Volkswagen to court. Anyone who has rejected the offer or has not received one can still file an individual lawsuit.

Filing a lawsuit and receiving damages

The Sharan driver had sued VW before the district court and a higher regional court. In the end, the case ended up in Germany's highest court - the Federal Court of Justice. All other German courts base their decisions on the BGH when dealing with similar cases. The German courts still have about 60.000 lawsuits in the VW exhaust scandal. These judgments will most likely be similar to today's BGH judgments. Edit 08.2020: And apparently there is also at Gasoline vehicles illegal defeat devices!

Do you want to take advantage of the consumer-friendly ruling of the Federal Court of Justice and sue VW? Get in touch with us! The consumer law firm VON RUEDEN represents more than 12.000 clients against all car manufacturers affected by the emissions scandal. In a free initial consultation, we will explain to you what legal steps you can take and what successes would be possible. Contact us: by phone on 030 / 200 590 770 or by email at info@rueden.de. We're happy to help you!

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