Automotive industry
U.S. judge puts VW Ultimatum
In the legal tug-of-war to compromised gas emissions has now a judge in San Francisco the pressure is increased. By the end of March, the Wolfsburg is a viable concept for the retrofitting of the affected vehicles to present.
U.S. district judge Charles Breyer has Volkswagen and the US EPA for a period of up to 24. March set. Until then you need to tell whether you are on a way to repair the compromised diesel cars have agreed. Breyer urges to hurry, finally got VW the Abgasmanipulationen already almost six months admitted.
“There is an Ultimatum – to 24. March I demand from VW and the EPA have a definitive answer, if there is a solution,” said judge Breyer in San Francisco at the first hearing in the lawsuit.
The stuck rings from VW with the US EPA, such as the Betrugsprogramme for Tricking emissions testing in hundreds of thousands of Diesel cars to be eliminated, makes the procedure considerably, so Breyer. The amount of the compensation, the he to are have depends on when the cars repaired. The previous suggestions of VW were rejected. “I have some serious Concerns,” said the judge at the start of the Mega-process, for the in the US district court for Northern California in San Francicso about 500 civil claims from US car owners and dealers to three class-action lawsuits are bundled. “Almost 600,000 vehicles are up to the present day on the roads without a valid license”. It was a persistent Problem that urgently must be solved, because the vehicles in the environment polluted.
To be personally liable? Ex-VW boss Winterkorn (li.) and successor to Müller, 2012, at the presentation of the Porsche balance sheet
VW executives in the sights of plaintiff
The plaintiffs are claiming damages and additional penalties for fraud, breach of contract, misleading advertising, and distortion of competition. Be accused of being a VW, the group subsidiaries Audi and Porsche, as well as the companies Bosch, the Manipulation necessary Software should have. In addition, several current and former Top managers and engineers such as Matthias Müller, and Martin Winterkorn be held personally liable.
VW lawyer Robert Giuffra promised before the court of full cooperation in the sense of a rapid and fair compensation, stressed, however: “Each solution we offer needs the approval of the US authorities”. It was highly complex, technical operations. Judge Breyer criticized that Top Management is at the latest since September, informed – “six months should be enough, to make decisions.”
A Central contention are logs and files of the U.S. investigators were requested, and according to VW the German data protection act subject. Also this information should reach the 24. March.
US courts against German privacy
Also, the U.S. Department of justice, the VW in January in a separate process, with a value in dispute of computationally up to 46 billion dollars has sued, wants the sensitive data to evaluate. The reference to the laws in Germany and Europe by some US investigators as Schutzbehauptung considered.
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Recall at VW runs to (economy 29.01.2016)
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Recall at VW runs to (economy 29.01.2016)
VW had after allegations that on 18. September by the EPA were made public, given, already since 2009, in large scale emissions in the USA are manipulated to have. Worldwide there are over eleven million Diesel vehicles of the group affected.Volkswagen power according to their own progress in its negotiations with the US authorities for the processing of the Abgasskandals.
VW-attorney Robert Giuffra said in San Francisco that VW in around a month, possibly more could tell. To Details he did not want to comment on that. The U.S. Department of justice have VW asked not to the ongoing discussions to Express.
Circuit judge Breyer has the former FBI chief Robert S. Mueller commissioned, in the litigation surrounding the Abgasskandal in the United States as a Mediator to convey. The judge demanded that high-ranking VW Manager with Mueller meet.
Volkswagen has the well-known US attorney Kenneth Feinberg mandated for US car owners to establish a compensation Fund to be set up. As long as there is no agreement between VW and the EPA grant that could Feinberg not to move forward, said Breyer.
tko/rb (rtr, dpa)