Courts reject Volkswagen appeal over emissions cheating scandal
Volkswagen has attempted to fight the High Court's decision that it fitted unlawful 'defeat devices' in thousands of UK cars via the Court of Appeal. However, the court denied its appeal in a ruling that means that the dieselgate compensation case can continue.
Around 90,000 owners of the 1.2 million affected Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT and Skoda diesel models in the UK have taken legal action for compensation in the aftermath of the scandal. The lawsuit - spearheaded by law firms Slater & Gordon and Leigh Day - looks set to become the UK's largest group action in history.
The ruling means those vehicle owners may receive compensation by 2022. Last month, it was revealed that affected US consumers had been awarded $9.8 billion in settlements so far.
If Volkswagen Group had won the appeal, it's likely that the outcome would've been longer fought, and owners would continue to be denied compensation.
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The judge in the case earlier this year, Mr Justice Waksman, ruled that "the software function in issue in this case is indeed a defeat device" under the classification defined by the EU.
He added, "A software function which enables a vehicle to pass the test because it operates the vehicle in a way which is bound to past the test and in which it does not operate own the road is a fundamental subversion of the test and the objective behind it."
Despite the lost appeal, there are still further phases of the case, including determining whether or not the defeat device caused damage to the affected cars.
A spokesperson for Volkswagen Group said: "Volkswagen Group is disappointed in the Court of Appeal’s decision but, of course, respects it.
This decision relates to the technical points of law that formed the Preliminary Issues Hearing in 2019. It does not determine the points of loss, liability and causation, which will be decided at a trial, not before March 2022.
Volkswagen maintains that because customers have not suffered any loss, it does not owe them compensation. Nevertheless, this is a matter for the main trial in due course.
Volkswagen has openly acknowledged that, in relation to the emissions issue, we did not live up to our own standards. We are committed to maintaining the trust of the public through programmes such as our €33bn investment into e-mobility, bringing 75 fully electric car models to market by 2029."
As of yet, Volkswagen hasn't paid compensation to any UK owners - maintaining the cars weren't fitted with a ‘defeat device’ under UK law.
gavsmit on 12 August 2020
A company that's proven its integrity and commitment to UK consumers with this failed legal defence, and its cars are not reliable as many would have you believe (e.g. 1.5 TSi engine debacle and the dieselgate 'fix' that's ruined many of their cars despite "not having a defeat device under UK law") so I still can't figure out why so many people in the UK buy so many of their cars that don't even benefit the UK economy by being built here?"There's nowt as queer as folk."
Micky Myers on 12 August 2020
They buy them because they they have limited cognition and cannot think outside the box. If the car says, "Me, me, me!" and the badge fits with the crowd, then so be it. They'll even be happy paying the inflated prices that VW will have to charge to cover this mess....
ROGER FURNEAUX on 17 August 2020
VW customers HAVE suffered a loss, they have all paid more to fuel their cars...and of course everbody else has suffered from the excess of noxious emissions we have unwittingly breathed in, pedestrians in urban areas especially!Malcolm Duff on 17 August 2020
they say we have not suffered loss well I have just had to pay out £800 for the second time an injector has gone into limp mode.The second time an injector went they told me it was number 4 but when i told them that they had already replaced this one low and behold they changed their minds and said it was number 1 Shame on Beadles Dartfordexpertad on 23 August 2020
Why are you paying for it? if you had the recall done it is covered by a 2 year /160000 mile warranty that covers anything to to with the EGR/injectors etc...I am head of warranty for a large Audi dealer so hopefully know what i am on about.....
Kevin McFortune on 26 August 2020
I had quite a different experience. 11 months after the recall update was performed my coil light began flashing and eml light came on intermittently.
Diagnostics by the dealership brought up turbo boost actuator fault (hmmm second turbo) VW dealership in newcastle 12 months and 2 days after the repair "we are really sorry but your car is just outside the warranty"
They happily quoted for new DPF to start the repair and proceed with further diagnostics at a cost of £800 needless to say i had the repair carried out elsewhere.
Simonski on 17 August 2020
At least 36,000 deaths a year in the UK are due to CO2 pollution. VW need to recognise their actions will have caused many of those deaths. VW should not be allowed to sell any more cars in the UK until they ompensate every owner and every victim, they have blood on their hands.Edited by Simonski on 17/08/2020 at 19:04
c Reed on 17 August 2020
CO2 does not cause death. We use it our fizzy drinks.
Large greenhouses use extra CO2 to make their plants grow bigger, quicker.
However car exhaust emmission are harmful.
An EU6 engine is quite good, but in the UK's crowded streets car emmissions can exceed health limits
What surprises me is that methanol is added to petrol but not, it seems, to diesel.
Given the massive abundance of ordinary natural gas, there are no duel fueled cars.
In Brazil, the only taxis not running on compressed natural gas of those taxis in an area where natural gas is not yet available.
The car use of Compressed natural gas in Brazil is one reason why a massive gas pipeline project became viable.
John Margerison on 17 August 2020
Is somebody not going to use evidence that i, along with many others may have suffered and just because I cannot remember the registration numbers of seven or eight diesel VW's. Might mean I have no chance of making an issue with VW and it's slick ways.margerison.john@yahoo.com
Emarco on 17 August 2020
Also VW Group made their showroom and technical staff lie to customers i.e. that the fix would not affect their vehicles when they knew it would. Shameful on many levels.MartyF on 17 August 2020
This finally confirms that VW were never the quality brand they claimed to be. Other manufacturers pushed into the shade by a dishonest company never tried to subvert the system, yet VW continued to dupe their customers. Even now, they try to dupe the Courts. VW owners deserve compensation.on 17 August 2020
The simple fact is that the VW/Audi group have been killing people (you may care to say "shortening their lives but that's just a euphemism for killing) quite deliberately, in the full knowledge that they were doing so for profit.Those are the bare facts. And yet people still buy their cars?
on 18 August 2020
To briefly quote from the initial statement above:"We (i.e. Volkswagen) are committed to maintaining the trust of the public" !
Well folks, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but any so-called 'trust' that this particular manufacturer thought existed between them and thousands of their disaffected customers was well & truly shattered by the 'Dieselgate' scandal.
Quite frankly, I find it truly astonishing that even despite the overwhelming evidence of this deception, the company nevertheless still brazenly attempted to fight the High Court's decision that it fitted unlawful 'defeat devices' in thousands of UK cars, proving beyond doubt that numerous corporations will stop at NOTHING if it ultimately affects their profits !
However to be entirely fair, VW weren't the only guilty culprits to be caught out at this game, because a great number of businesses and private individuals also bought or leased similarly affected diesel Mercedes vehicles made between 2009 and 2018, whilst other manufacturers such as Fiat, Ford, Opel and Renault were also implicated in this shameful episode.
The appropriate Latin phrase 'Caveat emptor' or 'Let the buyer beware' springs to mind, but the real answer to the problem is simply to hit these manufacturers in the pocket (where it really hurts them the most) and then make the principled decision NEVER to buy a vehicle from ANY of them in future !
VINCENT MILLARD on 18 August 2020
Don't forget GM, BMW and Merc! All worse than VW on the Dieselgate scale that has been published. Perhaps HJ would like to put it up for you.
They will all be next now that VW has failed!
VINCENT MILLARD on 18 August 2020
Oh and I'm not a fan of modern VWs, did I say modern?on 18 August 2020
I used to like Volkswagen Group vehicles we bought ours because of the low emissions but now I could not sell it because I had to give it away to my daughter I wanted to clear conscience and not sell the rubbish to somebody elseAdd a comment