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Companies could owe owners between 5% and 15% of the purchase
price of their vehicle, the court ruled, in a case against
Volkswagen, its Audi brand and Mercedes-Benz that has
implications for similar lawsuits.
The judge overturned previous dismissals by courts of such
claims and referred them back to courts of appeal. It was up to
carmakers to prove that their so-called defeat devices were
functional and not illegal, she said.
Defeat devices are mechanisms or software that can change
vehicle emissions levels, leading to numerous court disputes
over whether manufacturers use them improperly to mask the true
pollution levels of their vehicles.
Carmakers argue the devices, which are only switched on at
certain temperatures, are needed to protect the motor and are in
line with the law.
But European courts are increasingly backing car owners and
environmental groups calling for recalls and compensation on
vehicles with such devices, a high-cost hangover from the
industry's 2015 diesel scandal - which centred on Volkswagen -
at a time when it is under pressure to focus on the transition
to electric vehicles.
Monday's decision was a change from the court's previous
position that carmakers could only be charged if they had
intentionally installed an illegal device, after the European
Court of Justice decided owners were owed compensation even in
cases where the damage to plaintiffs was caused by negligence.
(Reporting by Ursula Knapp, Victoria Waldersee, Ilona Wissenbach;
Editing by Maria Sheahan and Mark Potter)
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