Daimler diesel cheat cases flood Stuttgart court
Diesel cases jam courts in Daimler’s hometownA flood of diesel-cheating lawsuits against Daimler has effectively brought the court system in its hometown of Stuttgart to a shuddering halt.
The president of the Stuttgart Regional Court confirmed yesterday that he had called for legal reinforcements to stop the Daimler diesel issues becoming a “burden for years to come”.
Daimler has downgraded its profit expectations several times since the arrival of its new CEO Ola Kallenius as the depth of the diesel scandal became more widely known, with cost reserves now set at €1.6 billion.
"We are faced with a huge challenge, the extent of which we cannot yet conclusively assess," Singer said, in sentiments Kallenius himself might sympathise with.
"But it is clear that we urgently need reinforcement for a structural additional burden for years to come."
The court received more than 1100 lawsuits against Daimler over either its allegedly illegal diesel exhaust technology or issues with Daimler’s financial arm over credit issues.
With Daimler headquartered in Stuttgart, all actions brought against the Daimler Group must go first through the Stuttgart Regional Court.
In June, Daimler was ordered by the Landshut Regional Court to take back a diesel car from a customer because its exhaust-gas manipulation meant it wasn’t delivered as certified.
Most of the 1100 cases stem from that ruling, with diesel owners wanting Daimler to take their cars back for the purchase price before they faced driving bans in some German cities.
For its part, Daimler insisted it took customer lawsuits seriously but warned it would defend itself against “unfounded” claims.
And it has. While the Landshut court’s ruling insisted Daimler had deceived the buyer immorally because its test-bench NOx levels could not be matched in real-world driving, the more senior Higher Regional Court disagreed.
The Higher Regional Court tossed out 167 lawsuits by individual owners against Daimler over the diesel cheating, while the five decisions handed down have all gone in favour of the car-maker.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
If the price does not contain the notation that it is "Drive Away", the price may not include additional costs, such as stamp duty and other government charges.
