Judgment in the diesel complex: judges at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe
Image: dpa
The Federal Court of Justice makes it easier for diesel plaintiffs to assert claims for damages due to impermissible thermal windows in lawsuits. But numerous questions remain unanswered.
The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) makes it easier for diesel plaintiffs to enforce claims for damages due to impermissible defeat devices. The “Diesel Senate” at the BGH significantly lowered the hurdles for claims for damages due to “thermal windows” in three proceedings against VW, Audi and Mercedes on Monday. In order to avoid liability, vehicle manufacturers must now prove that they acted neither intentionally nor negligently when they equipped cars with technology that illegally throttled or switched off exhaust gas cleaning at certain temperatures.
Gustave parts
Business correspondent in Stuttgart.
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At the same time, however, the judges have limited the amount of conceivable claims for damages in the thermal window cases. The range is between at least 5 and at most 15 percent of the purchase price paid, unless an expert report proves a different damage.