A chance for motorists who did not have time to enter the Italian class action against Volkswagen for compensation for damages from dieselgate: until 21 February, it is possible to participate in an ongoing action in Germany. It was promoted by the European Consumer Center Italy in Bolzano (recognized by the EU) before the Court of Appeal of Braunschweig, to give Italian consumers the same treatment as German ones. The cause goes live on February 22 and promises to be a close battle.
The Volkswagen group, in fact, is defended by a multinational firm of law firms of the caliber of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which has announced the presence of five of its lawyers. They will work alongside three professionals who work in the car manufacturer’s legal office.
Why in Germany
Germany has also attracted thousands of individual consumer cases from across the EU, mostly from Spain. They are pending in the courts of Ingolstadt (those relating to Audi cars) and Braunschweig (for Volkswagen, Skoda and Seat), with different times.
They are also very controversial, because so far the judges have requested expert opinions on the applicable law: the Volkswagen group defends itself on all fronts so that German law is not applied in practices promoted by consumers from other EU states.
But the fact remains that the possibilities are not lacking: so far Germany is the only European country in which the group has agreed to close cases by reaching agreements with consumers. Voluntary compensation has so far been reserved only for customers from non-European countries with very effective consumer legislation, such as the USA.