Volkswagen settles UK ‘dieselgate’ claims with $242m payout

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German carmaker Volkswagen has agreed to pay £193m ($242m) to settle 91,000 legal claims in Wales and England linked to the “dieselgate” emissions scandal that engulfed the company in 2015.

Each claimant will receive an average payment of more than £2,100 ($2,637) after joining the action that alleged cars manufactured by the Volkswagen group, including Seat, Audi, and Skoda, emitted more nitrogen dioxide than VW alleged. On Wednesday, the high court in London dismissed the proceedings after the settlement.

VW will also pay out an amount of around tens of millions of pounds to cover the claimants’ legal costs, in addition to other fees thought to include the fees levied by investors who supported the legal actions.

In 2015, VW was found to have installed illegal “defeat devices” to cheat tests on emissions, which made the car manufacturer become one of the costliest corporate scandals in history. VW has paid more than £26bn ($32.6bn) in legal fees and payouts to clients, which include a £12bn ($15bn) settlement in the US. Former VW chief executive Martin Winterkorn's fraud trial has been postponed because of his sickness.

VW rejected having done any wrongdoing as part of the settlement, and in a press release, it said that the settlement was the “prudent course of action commercially” to avoid the legal cost of a 6-month trial and potential appeals. It believes the time that has passed since the scandal in 2015 is too much for other owners to bring claims, despite the fact that there are two other British claims in the early stages of litigation.

VW’s chief legal officer Philip Haarmann said, “The Volkswagen Group is pleased that we have been able to conclude this long-running litigation in England and Wales. The settlement is another important milestone as the Volkswagen Group continues to move beyond the deeply regrettable events leading up to September 2015.”

VW has already paid out billions in settlements around the world related to dieselgate, but the issue took more time in England and Wales because of a different system that does not easily allow for US-style “class actions”, under which lawyers can act on behalf of a group of claimants without needing their approval.

German farmer, backed by Greenpeace, sues VW over climate change risks

Last week, a German court started hearing a case against the Volkswagen group brought by a farmer who alleged the pollution caused by the automotive giant is violating his rights. 
  
The organic farmer comes from the Rhineland town of Detmold and is supported by the Greenpeace campaign group. According to his statements, Volkswagen's emissions are greatly leading to climate change and thus hurting his business. 
  
He added that this is interfering with his fundamental rights to health, property, and freedom. 

Ahead of the proceedings, Greenpeace cited the farmer's lawyer, Roda Verheyen, as saying, "A corporation with such gigantic CO2 emissions as VW is partly responsible for the damage caused by the climate crisis."