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Daimler has settled the legal dispute over diesel emissions in the USA with two settlements. However, according to the Group, this does not constitute an admission of guilt.
Daimler has to pay a total of €1.9 billion to end the legal dispute in the United States over increased diesel emissions. This was announced by the US Department of Justice and the vehicle manufacturer itself. The sum comprises two settlements. This would mean that Daimler would settle both the preliminary proceedings of the US authorities and the numerous lawsuits filed by car owners.
The settlements with the U.S. authorities will therefore cost around 1.5 billion dollars. This includes a civil fine of 875 million dollars.
Daimler underlined that this was not an admission of guilt. Whether the functions used in the vehicles are "defeat devices" - i.e., inadmissible shut-off devices of the exhaust gas purification systems - was not determined in the course of the settlement: "The settlement agreements explicitly state that the company denies the allegations of the authorities as well as the claims of the class action plaintiffs and does not admit any liability to the U.S., California, the plaintiffs or in any other way.
The group had always rejected targeted manipulations of exhaust technology with cheating software (as used for years at Volkswagen).
Now Daimler has to improve the cars via software updates, similar to what is done in Europe. In addition, there are other environmental measures for which the company has to pay. In addition to the sums stipulated in the settlements, Daimler expects to incur costs in the mid three-digit million range in order to implement the agreement.
Diesel Scandal in EU swaps onto other large companies
The European Court (EuGH / ECJ) decided against VW. What are the consequences for VW and other?
"The ECJ had been called upon by a Paris court investigating the Volkswagen diesel scandal in France. Before a possible indictment, the investigators wanted to clarify whether the practice of defeat devices in the registration tests is legal. With the ECJ decision, the way is now clear for criminal charges in France. However, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, these are not just about VW, but also against the manufacturers Renault, the PSA group with brands such as Peugeot and Citroën, and of course Fiat. All four have been in the sights of investigators for years. Countless tests had proven the use of defeat devices.
Class actions against VW, Renault, PSA and Fiat: "The decision of the European Court of Justice opens up access to compensation for all car customers in Europe who have been defrauded", comments lawyer Charles Constantin-Vallet in the Süddeutsche Zeitung of 17 December 2020. The lawyer primarily represents the consumer association CLCV in France. In autumn, it filed a civil class action against Volkswagen in France to obtain reimbursement of the full purchase price of about 950,000 diesel vehicles. Following the ECJ ruling, Constantin-Vallet and CLCV are also planning a class action against Renault, PSA and Fiat, which incidentally deny any fraud.
Pending legal cases in Germany:
Dieselgate 2.0 is picking up speed: In Germany, the diesel emissions scandal is seamlessly merging into Dieselgate 2.0. The European Court of Justice has made it clear that defeat devices are generally illegal, including those that regulate the exhaust gas purification depending on the temperature - in other words, that they switch off. Such thermo windows are found in most diesel engines.
Software update for EA 189 is not permitted: A thermal window has been used as an update. This is hardly disputed by VW. The argument of engine protection is also put forward. A corresponding case is pending at the European Court of Justice.
VW engine EA288: Here, too, it is undisputed that a thermal window is used. Volkswagen has already admitted this in court. According to the ECJ, the type approval of the vehicles is not legal.
Daimler AG: The Swabian car manufacturer also uses the so-called thermal window in its diesel engines. And has already admitted this. Daimler is currently losing a series of cases in German courts and has already been sentenced twice in higher regional courts."
Management to pay back a large sum to the VW company
A verdict to managers that are responsible for the Diesel scandal. They have to pay back the sum of €288 Million to the company they worked for. Winterkorn, the former CEO pays €11 M.
Of course this in no comparison to the far over €30 billion costs the scandal summed up until now. And not yet finished.
The same day of the release of the verdict came the good news that Winterkorn is getting a trial in September because he did not tell the truth in front of the congress (2015). That trial is not a money but a legal one which might be a threat with prison for Winterkorn who is in pension right now. Of course he is on the search list from different states - means he never can travel abroad again...
As well involved in the Diesel scandal in the world - the cheating has not ended here.
Latest News tell us that Daimler's best horse in the run - the deluxe S-Class Mercedes
(latest model) failed in the Moose test (Elch-Test)!
Really?????
Yes!
Why?
Because on pressure of USA they had to take out the stability package that worked BEST!
How comes?
Daimler took a patent for stability in their top class cars - but never paid a cent for the fee
for the patent that they never held themselves.
USA was aware about this - and fired the Daimler company as a always cheating firm.
The source?
well - embarrassing: I am the partner of the patent holder.
So - upcoming legal processes (since 1997 not paid patent licence) will make a strong
pressure on the "never failing company with latest inventions".
Keeping that in mind - a deluxe car maker has been brought to the legal light.
New Mercedes S-class failed: A documentation can be seen from km77 which means the setup for the test in a slalom with a velocity of 77km/h (48mph) to pass the test.
The flagship model of Mercedes shows a fail @ 74km/h already.
The damage for the car maker is tremendous - as the world laughed 1997 already of the Mercedes A-class fatal failure. Since then this test is a standard in the industry.
VW wants to go to the US Supreme Court
After the US government, individual states are also planning to fine VW. The company wants to appeal to the Supreme Court because the demands could be horrendous: One judge is talking about a trillion dollars.
VW states that they already paid for the Clean Air Act to USA.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that the state can pursue sanctions for systematic emissions manipulation against the carmaker that go beyond the penalties already agreed at the US federal level. For VW, regional proceedings like this one in Ohio are explosive - the Wolfsburg-based carmaker could once again face fines worth billions.
The three German car companies VW, BMW, Daimler pay fines in the millions:
German car companies have to pay a total of 875 million euros in fines for illegal collusion. The car companies had agreed on the fines in a settlement with the EU Commission, according to a statement (of today) by the EU Commission. Volkswagen will pay 500 million euros, BMW 375 million euros. Daimler was also involved in the collusion, but does not have to pay. The company had acted as a key witness. The groups colluded on the size of the Adblue tanks, but are of the opinion that customers were not harmed as a result.
This means that the possible penalty is not fully exhausted. Theoretically, payments of up to ten percent of the annual turnover may be due.
VW shareholders take legal action against their own company in the USA
There is a new legal dispute in the VW diesel scandal in the USA. Volkswagen shareholders have filed a lawsuit against the umbrella company - on behalf of the car company.
VW's main owner Porsche SE (PSE) is facing a shareholder lawsuit in the USA in connection with the diesel scandal. The lawsuit filed in the New York State Supreme Court is directed against Porsche SE and former members of Volkswagen's executive board and supervisory board, as well as other individuals, according to the interim report of PSE, which is Volkswagen's largest shareholder with 53.3 per cent of the voting rights.
"The plaintiffs claim to be shareholders of Volkswagen AG and are asserting alleged claims of Volkswagen AG on its behalf with their lawsuit," the report continues. The lawsuit - a so-called derivative action - is based, among other things, on allegations of breaches of duty under the German Stock Corporation Act and the German Corporate Governance Code.
Accordingly, the plaintiffs want the court to find that the defendants breached their duties towards Volkswagen and to award the Wolfsburg-based group a claim for damages. The pleading, which was filed with the court in April 2021, has not yet been served on the company. A PSE spokesperson said that the amount of a claim for damages is usually not quantified when a lawsuit is filed in the USA.
source: 'Der Spiegel online' from today
Volkswagen has suffered a stinging defeat in a US lawsuit over the "Dieselgate" scandal. The Wolfsburg-based company now again faces fines worth millions, if not billions.
The Ohio Supreme Court has thrown the doors wide open for new proceedings against the Volkswagen car company. On Tuesday, the justices ruled that the state can pursue sanctions for systematic emissions manipulation against the carmaker that go beyond the penalties already agreed to at the US federal level.
"This is a significant decision that will ensure Volkswagen can be held accountable for its conduct," Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement. "We will seek justice."
That is Volkswagen's position
VW naturally sees things quite differently and wants to take the case to the Supreme Court, i.e. the US Supreme Court. The Ohio ruling could create "regulatory chaos" by giving local and federal authorities overlapping jurisdiction.
The Wolfsburg-based company believes that the claims of individual states in the emissions scandal have been settled by fines and compensation that VW had already had to pay for violations of the nationwide Clean Air Act.
Volkswagen had already paid more than 25 billion dollars to car owners, environmental authorities and car dealers in the USA in the "Dieselgate" scandal and had made buyback offers for 500,000 cars.
This is how high the financial risks are for VW
The financial consequences of the Ohio ruling for the Wolfsburg-based car company are controversial even among the judges responsible for the ruling. Judge Patrick Fischer, for example, was convinced that Wolfsburg's fears of additional penalties were unfounded. There was no conflict between the relevant state and federal laws.
Judge Michael Donnelly disagrees: Donnelly emphasised that VW theoretically faces fines of more than one trillion dollars as a result of the Ohio decision. Donnelly was the only one of six judges to vote against allowing further state-level sanctions against the company.
Other US states take action against VW
Ohio is only one of several places in the USA where VW is threatened with further trouble. For example, as recently as June 2020, an appeals court ruled that additional penalties were permissible at the regional level despite settlements that had already been reached. This case involved lawsuits from two counties in the states of Florida and Utah.
The appellate judges said they were aware that their decision could lead to "staggering burdens" for VW. Based on the regional fine catalogues in the two counties alone, fines of up to 11.2 billion dollars per year are at stake. In January, VW had already turned to the US Supreme Court in the capital Washington in these proceedings.
translated from a German News channel from last week
June 29 (Reuters) - Ohio's Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for the state's attorney general to move forward with a lawsuit against Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) over its "Dieselgate" scandal and manipulation of emissions-control systems.
The court ruled 6-1 that the federal Clean Air Act did not pre-empt state law-based claims that Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is pursuing, or prohibit state oversight after a vehicle or engine is sold.
"This is a major decision that will ensure that Volkswagen can be held accountable," Yost said in a statement.
VW promised an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying the decision could create "regulatory chaos" and inhibit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ability to regulate emissions by giving state and local governments overlapping authority.
The German automaker has agreed to pay more than $25 billion in the United States for claims from owners, environmental regulators, states and dealers, and offered to buy back about 500,000 polluting U.S. vehicles. read more
VW admitted in 2015 to having secretly used illegal software to evade emissions rules, and pleaded guilty in 2017 to conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
Ohio sued in 2016, accusing VW of conducting deceptive recalls and updates of diesel vehicles that were sold or leased in the state.
A trial judge said federal law pre-empted Ohio's claims, but a mid-level appeals court revived the state's case, prompting VW to appeal.
In upholding the appeals court ruling, Justice Patrick Fischer said federal law did not pre-empt or conflict with Ohio's claims that VW violated the state's Air Pollution Control Act through the post-sale tampering with vehicles' emissions-control systems.
That, he said, made VW's fear it could be punished for following Ohio law "unfounded."
"There is no conflict between the relevant federal and state statutes or any obstacle to Congress's objectives," Fischer wrote.
Justice Michael Donnelly dissented, and said the case could theoretically result in a more than $1 trillion judgment.
