City pair take on Mercedes in ‘dieselgate’ legal action
RESIDENTS JOIN UP WITH LAW FIRM IN BID TO BRING FIRM TO ACCOUNT OVER POLLUTION DEVICES
TWO Leicester residents are joining up with a national consumer rights law firm to hold Mercedes to account over the “dieselgate” scandal.
Jayeshkumar Patel and David Simpson are working with Slater and Gordon to bring the claim, and it is expected to become a group action litigation, with tens of thousands of consumers.
An estimated 600,000 dieselpowered Mercedes vehicles in the UK, built between 2008 and 2018, may have had defeat devices installed on their cars in order to pass emissions tests.
This means affected cars will have passed tests, which are designed protect health and the environment, which they shouldn’t have.
In June 2018, Mercedes was found by the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) to have installed cheating software in their diesel engines to avoid regulatory requirements and was forced to recall 774,000 vehicles across Europe.
The KBA ordered Mercedes to recall about 90,000 affected vehicles in England and Wales, as well as Mercedes issuing voluntary recall notices.
These “defeat devices” limited emissions during testing, underrepresenting the true emissions released on the road. This resulted in Mercedes diesel engines not complying with regulations on nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.
Mercedes’ parent company, Daimler, was fined €870 million in September 2019 for negligent violation in relation to their avoidance of emissions regulations.
Daimler has settled an investigation in the United States for a reported $1.5 billion, as well as settling a class action case against them for $700 million.
Mercedes are disputing the findings by the KBA, and are appealing the decision they made, and say that the emission control functions found in their cars are allowed. They are intending to fight the legal action in UK courts as they are in Germany, and insist that they have a “strong legal position” against the claims.
The claim is being funded by Asertis, an independent litigation funder, meaning people can seek compensation from Mercedes without risking their own money.
Jayeshkumar Patel, above, said: “I was shocked to learn of Mercedes’ use of defeat devices in their diesel cars and am keen all of us who have been let down by Mercedes should receive the compensation we are due. It was especially disappointing to see Mercedes colluded with other car manufacturers to suppress technology that could have reduced the vehicles’ emissions and protected the environment.”
Gareth Pope, the lawyer in charge of the claim at Slater and Gordon, said: “Our clients will allege that Mercedes knowingly installed unlawful defeat devices in hundreds of thousands of UK vehicles that allowed them to pass emissions tests designed to protect human health and the environment, while still being highly polluting on the road.
“Our clients will allege they have been deceived into purchasing these polluting vehicles for more than they were worth.
“Our clients will also allege Mercedes participated in a cartel with other German manufacturers, including Volkswagen, to suppress the development and implementation of cleaner emissions technology to maximise their profits.”