Lawyers for Volkswagen shareholders file claim in Germany

[June 21, 2016]  LONDON (Reuters) - Law firm Quinn Emanuel has filed one of two lawsuits in Germany against Volkswagen on behalf of institutional funds over an emissions scandal in claims that could run into the billions of euros, litigation funder Bentham Europe said on Tuesday.

"The breadth of the shareholder base that is represented by Quinn Emanuel should be a wake-up call to Volkswagen AG that it needs to engage with shareholders now, resolve matters and concentrate on regaining its market share," said Jeremy Marshall, chief investment officer of Bentham Europe.

VW, which is facing a handful of investor lawsuits, saw its shares plunge after the company admitted last year that its software cheated U.S. emissions tests and that it had also understated CO2 emissions and fuel usage.

(Reporting by Kirstin Ridley; Editing by Susan Fenton)

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