EMISSIONS SCANDAL

The emissions scandal has now occupied ourselves and the judiciary for the eighth year. We have followed case law from the beginning and through all instances and advised our clients in accordance with the most current case law. We consider experience in court to be essential – especially in the so-called “mass proceedings”.

The following statements concern the jurisprudence in the Federal Republic of Germany, wherein the acronym “BGB” stands for “Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch” (i.e., the German Civil Code): Due to the latest case law of the Federal Court of Justice – recorded in the decisions announced on June 26, 2023, referring to the ECJ decision on C-100/21 of March 21, 2023 – it is significantly easier to assert claims against vehicle manufacturers of vehicles affected by inadmissible defeat devices make. In addition to the claims from § 826 BGB with the special hurdle of immoral damage, in departure from the previous case law of the BGH on this point, there can also be a claim from § 823 II BGB in conjunction with European lawregulations on type approval, for which at fault level only negligence is required. In our experience, many proceedings in the future will focus on the question of manufacturer negligence and thus the question of whether the respective vehicle manufacturer can rely on an unavoidable error of law.

Many legal questions relating to many manufacturers have now been clarified by the highest courts, so that the outcome of a case can be predicted more precisely today than at the beginning of the emissions scandal. The question of compensation for benefits for the use of the vehicle has also been discussed, at least as an interim result. Let’s discuss whether you can still make economically viable claims for an affected vehicle. We are happy to help. Honestly, comprehensively, individually.