diesel scandal
An Audi owner from Baden-Württemberg complained and hoped for money from Volkswagen.
(Photo: dpa)
Those affected by the emissions scandal who sued for damages too late can only hope for money from Volkswagen when it comes to a newly purchased VW diesel. In the case of cars from other group brands such as Audi, so-called residual damages are out of the question, as the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) ruled on Thursday. According to an earlier judgment from Karlsruhe, used car buyers generally have no right to this. (Az. VII ZR 422/21)
Residual damages may be due to diesel owners whose claims for damages are justified but have already become statute-barred. The basis is a special provision in the Civil Code, paragraph 852. According to this, claims can still exist even after the statute of limitations has expired if “the person liable for compensation has obtained something through a tortious act at the expense of the injured party”.
In the case of new VW cars, this requirement is met according to the case law of the Federal Court of Justice – because the car manufacturer earned money directly from the sale of the vehicles. With the group brands, it is much more complicated. VW had supplied Audi with the scandalous engine EA189 and therefore owes deceived customers compensation in principle. However, VW did not have any economic advantage from the later sale of the Audi diesel, the highest civil judges have now decided.
In her opinion, it doesn’t matter that Audi and VW are economically intertwined in the Volkswagen Group. Because VW profits at best from Audi’s overall profit in the fiscal year, but not directly from the price paid for a specific purchase.
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According to VW, the decision can be transferred to a good 1,000 ongoing procedures. In the case under discussion, an Audi owner from Baden-Württemberg is now left empty-handed. She only filed her lawsuit in 2020. The emissions scandal came to light in autumn 2015. And according to the line of the Federal Court of Justice, one could expect that a car owner would find out by the end of 2016 at the latest whether his diesel is also equipped with the illegal exhaust gas technology, which in official tests led to the illusion of lower pollutant emissions. From this point in time, claims for damages had to be asserted within three years. So at the end of 2019 it was over.
VW: Residual damages are “economically unattractive” for customers with intensively used vehicles
With the first highest court judgments on residual damages in February, there was some movement in the legal processing of the diesel scandal. Because here the period for lawsuits is ten years from the date of purchase – this means that diesel owners who bought their VW new between February 2012 and September 2015 could even go to court now. The question, however, is whether it’s worth it.
In principle, the residual compensation is calculated in the same way as the actual compensation. Cars affected by the emissions scandal are now at least seven years old and in many cases should have plenty of kilometers on the clock.
Volkswagen is of the opinion that residual damages are “economically unattractive”, especially for customers with intensively used vehicles. “Because they have to be compensated for a considerable amount for the use of their vehicle and hand over their vehicle,” said a spokeswoman.
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