90,000 British VW drivers may get £3k payouts over dieselgate
VOLKSWAGEN could be forced to pay almost £ 300million to tens of thousands British drivers over the ‘dieselgate’ emissions scandal after a High Court ruling yesterday.
The London court found VW had deceived 90,000 motorists by installing ‘defeat devices’ designed to cheat emissions tests.
It meant vehicles were emitting up to 40 times the legal limit of nitrogen dioxide. Around 1.2million VW vehicles sold in the UK were fitted with the illegal devices.
Yesterday’s milestone ruling paves the way for largest consumer action in English legal history. Sources say drivers of affected vehicles could be entitled to more than £3,000 in compensation each, bringing the total bill to around £270million.
These amounts are based on similar litigation claims against VW in other countries. The scandal has seen the German carmaker pay out more than £26billion in fines, civil settlements and recall costs worldwide.
British drivers have been battling for compensation since the scandal was uncovered in 2015.
The case reached a decisive moment in December when the High Court was asked to conclude whether the software installed in VW cars was a ‘ defeat device’ under EU regulations.
In a judgment delivered yesterday, Mr Justice Waksman ruled in the drivers’ favour.
Lawyers representing the 90,000 British claimants have now accused VW of putting lives at risk ‘in pursuit of profit and market dominance’. Gareth Pope, of law firm Slater and
Gordon, which represents 70,000 claimants, welcomed the ‘damning judgment’.
He said it ‘confirms what our clients have known for a long time, but VW has refused to accept: Namely that VW fitted defeat devices into millions of vehicles in the UK in order to cheat emissions tests’.
He added: ‘The case exposed VW’s approach to this litigation and its customers, refusing to admit wrongdoing and compensate its customers in favour of running drawn-out and pointless litigation.
‘The court’s conclusion that the existence of software was a “fundamental subversion” of tests designed to limit pollution and make our air safe to breathe exposes VW’s disregard for EU emissions regulations and public health in pursuit of profit and market dominance.
‘VW’s utter failure to convince the court of the merits of its case means that now is surely time for it to settle these claims and put this shameful episode behind it.’ A VW spokesman said the company was ‘considering carefully the grounds on which it may seek to appeal’.
But they stressed: ‘The judgment relates only to preliminary issues. Today’s decision does not determine liability or any issues of causation or loss for any of the causes of action claimed. These remain to be determined by the court as the case continues.
‘Volkswagen remains confident in our case that we are not liable to the claimants as alleged and the claimants did not suffer any loss. We will continue to defend our position robustly.
‘Nothing in this decision today changes this.’
‘Shameful episode’