The millions of exhaust gas fraud at VW does not only affect car buyers. Shareholders were also caught freezing. Some of them blame the fraudulent software maker for their losses.
The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) is pushing ahead with the processing of the VW diesel scandal on Tuesday. Following lawsuits from VW shareholders, the highest civil judges in Karlsruhe are dealing for the first time with the role of the automotive supplier Bosch (Az. II ZR 152/20 et al.).
In addition, two judgments are issued on the question of whether diesel buyers are entitled to compensation from Volkswagen even if the car has meanwhile been resold (12 noon, Az. VI ZR 533/20 etc.)
Bosch supplied Volkswagen with the engine control software that was used to manipulate the exhaust gas values. The world’s largest auto supplier therefore had to pay a fine of 90 million euros for negligent breach of duty of supervision. There were also criminal investigations against individual employees.
Many investors had made losses when VW shares fell massively in September 2015 when the scam was exposed. You accuse Volkswagen of not having informed the capital market about the risks in good time. A model case worth billions has been running at the Braunschweig Higher Regional Court since September 2018.
The nine shareholder lawsuits that are at issue in Karlsruhe, on the other hand, are directed against Bosch for alleged aid. In one case, for example, the plaintiffs had invested more than 12,200 euros in preferred shares of VW at the end of 2013. On September 21, 2015, they only got just under 8,500 euros for this. They hold Bosch jointly responsible for the loss and demand around 3700 euros in damages.
The Stuttgart courts had dismissed all of the lawsuits. They left it open as to whether Volkswagen had committed a capital market offense. In their opinion, Bosch was in any case not involved to the extent that it would justify the allegation of aid. The BGH now has the final say. Whether there is already a judgment is open.
The claims for damages by the car buyers, in turn, are directed against VW as the manufacturer. According to a Karlsruhe principle judgment from May 2020, tens of thousands of those affected have already received money back. In contrast, the number of pending cases in which the car was resold is rather low. According to VW, there are around 1000.
In the one case that is now being decided, the plaintiff had sold her VW with the scandal engine EA189 for around 4500 euros during the ongoing proceedings. VW is of the opinion that that is the end of the matter – the woman has achieved a fair market price. The other plaintiff had traded in his VW at an Audi dealer and also received a “switch bonus” of 6,000 euros. The question is, how does that affect possible damages?
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
