German Court Questions VW Diesel Payouts
German drivers of Volkswagen Group vehicles whose diesels were rigged to evade emission standards may not be entitled to damages after all, a judge in Brunswick suggests.
#legal
German drivers of Volkswagen Group vehicles whose diesels were rigged to evade emission standards may not be entitled to damages after all, a judge in Brunswick suggests.

The central question, says Judge Michael Neef, is whether owners suffered any loss of value because of the cheating. He points out that affected customers have continued to drive their vehicle for four years after the scandal arose, Reuters reports.
Neef says a three-judge panel will further discuss compensation during a hearing on Nov. 18. Reuters notes that several other courts in Germany have approved payments. VW continues to argue that no compensation is warranted because the tainted vehicles continued to be driven.
VW Group has spent some €30 billion ($33 billion) to date on fines, environmental restitution, software and hardware updates, owner payments and vehicle buybacks—mostly in the U.S.—after admitting in 2015 that it rigged 11 million diesels worldwide with so-called defeat devices.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Special Report: Toyota & Issues Electric
Although Toyota’s focus on hybrid powertrains at the seeming expense of the development of a portfolio of full battery electric vehicles (BEVs) for the market could cause some concern among those of an environmental orientation, in that Toyota doesn’t seem to be sufficiently supportive of the environment, in their estimation. Here’s something that could cause a reconsideration of that point of view.
-
Revolutionary Hydrogen Storage Tank Design Could Propel H2 Deployment
Rather than storing hydrogen in a large cylindrical tank, Noble Gas has developed a conformal system
-
On Automotive: An All Electric Edition
A look at electric vehicle-related developments, from new products to recycling old batteries.