Porsche SE faces U.S. lawsuit over dieselgate scandal

[August 10, 2021]  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Porsche SE, Volkswagen's largest shareholder, is facing a lawsuit in the United States over claims related to the carmaker's diesel emissions scandal.

The suit, filed with the Supreme Court of the state of New York in April, targets Porsche SE as well as former members of the management and supervisory boards of Volkswagen, Porsche SE said in its half-year report.

Porsche SE, which holds 31.4% of Volkswagen, did not identify the plaintiffs and did not detail or quantify possible claims, saying the action had not yet been served.

"The plaintiffs claim to be shareholders of Volkswagen AG and assert with their action alleged claims of Volkswagen AG on behalf of Volkswagen AG," Porsche SE said.

The lawsuit marks the latest chapter in the "dieselgate" saga since Volkswagen admitted in September 2015 to using illegal software to rig diesel engine emissions tests. The scandal has cost the carmaker more than 32 billion euros ($38 billion) in fees, fines and legal costs so far.

Volkswagen and Porsche SE are already subject to 4.1 billion euros worth of shareholder claims in relation to the crisis, but it could take years before they are resolved.

Last month, Volkswagen shareholders approved a deal to settle claims against four former executives, including long-time CEO Martin Winterkorn, related to the crisis.

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz, Jan Schwartz and Ilona Wissenbach; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Mark Potter)

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