Volkswagen has agreed to pay ভিড 193m ($ 242m) out of court with car owners of the VW Group in the UK and Wales affected by the Dieselgate scandal.
Lawmakers Slater and Gordon, Leigh Day, and PGMBM filed nearly 91,000 lawsuits against VW Group and VW dealers, claiming compensation for owners’ use of VW’s emissions-fraud software, which was published in September 2015.
The settlement of the Volkswagen NOx emissions case does not acknowledge the liability of VW Group, which argued that the best (read: least costly) step was to close the matter quickly rather than contest the lawsuit. VW will not be involved in the distribution of settlement funds, but will make a separate contribution to the claimants’ legal costs and other fees.
Illegal software installed on VW Group vehicles, including the EA189 four-cylinder turbodiesel engine, enables those vehicles to detect and reduce emissions while operating in laboratory testbed conditions. But they will work differently in normal driving, creating more performance, but more air pollutants. The scandal affected 11 million vehicles worldwide and landed some of VW’s senior managers and engineers in prison.
Related: Former VW CEO Martin Winterkorn to pay $ 12 million for dieselgate damages
“The Volkswagen Group is pleased that we have been able to resolve this long-running lawsuit in England and Wales,” said Philip Herman, chief legal officer at Volkswagen AG. “The settlement is another important milestone as the Volkswagen Group continues to move forward with deep regrets beyond September 2015.”
Commenting on the settlement, Slater and Gordon CEO David Whitmore said: “Over the past five years, Slater and Gordon have rightly made a significant and unwavering commitment in this area, giving an expert voice to nearly 70,000 claimants. The settlement avoids the need for a lengthy, complex and costly trial process and we are pleased to be able to achieve this settlement for our clients as a result of group action. “