Bochum, Germany - A regional court has rejected an attempt by a customer to cancel his purchase of a Volkswagen car in the wake of the company's emissions scandal, saying the dealer was not to blame.
Volkswagen admitted in September it had installed illegal software in as many as 11 million cars worldwide that mitigated emissions during tests but stopped doing so on the road.
The plaintiff took legal action against a dealership in Bochum where he bought his Tiguan SUV, saying the manipulations by Volkswagen had rendered the model unsellable.
But judge Ingo Streek ruled on Wednesday the defendant could not be accused of a “significant violation of duty” as Volkswagen, not the dealer, made the vehicle.
The plaintiff's lawyer, Dietrich Messler, had already said he would appeal any defeat in the case at a higher court, as Europe's biggest carmaker faces a barrage of lawsuits from customers, institutional investors and regulators over the biggest corporate scandal in its history.
US law firm Hausfeld said on Tuesday it would pursue claims of European customers harmed by Volkswagen’s wrongdoing, a day after the launch of a €3.26 billion (R58.66 billion) lawsuit by almost 300 institutional investors became public.
Reuters