Volkswagen was sued for 3.3 billion euros ($3.7 billion) over the cover-up of its polluting diesel engines, its biggest legal challenge in Germany to date after a wave of lawsuits in the United States centered on the scandal.
The case was filed Monday in Braunschweig on behalf of 278 institutional investors from around the world, lawyer Andreas Tilp said by telephone. The suit claims VW failed to publish information about the emissions scandal in a timely manner, he said.
The case comes almost six months after Volkswagen admitted it installed software in its diesel vehicles to cheat emissions testing, a scandal that's rippled through the global car industry. Sixty-five cases are pending in Braunschweig over the issue, the court said last week. The company also faces a multitude of lawsuits in the U.S. as well as criminal probes in various countries.
Because Volkswagen has refused to take part in settlement negotiations and won't waive a statute of limitations defense, it was necessary to file the lawsuit, Tilp said.
READ: VW US chief steps down amid emission scandal
READ: South Korea orders recall of 125,500 VW cars
Eric Felber, a spokesman for Wolfsburg-based VW spokesman, declined to comment on the lawsuit until the company had seen a copy of the complaint.
VW stock fell as much as 2.2 percent to 113 euros in Frankfurt trading and was down 1.2 percent at 10 a.m.
"There is deep value in VW but the uncertainty around all the potential claims against the company make it difficult to invest," Sascha Gommel, an analyst at Commmerzbank in Frankfurt, said in a note to clients.
Tilp has represented investors in many German cases over capital-market disclosure issues. His firm represents investors suing Porsche SE for a combined 2.6 billion euros.
Among the plaintiffs in the new VW case are investors from Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States and Taiwan. These groups include 17 German investment management companies as well as insurance companies and the California Public Employees' Retirement System, one of the largest pension funds in the U.S., Tilp said.
Another 20 institutional investors seeking more than 1 billion euros are in talks with the firm about an additional suit, Tilp said.
Tilp filed the first individual shareholder case against VW on Oct. 1. The lawyer has asked the court to open test-case proceedings. If the request is granted, all capital-market cases will be jointly heard in a special procedure before the Braunschweig Higher Regional Court in the German state of Lower Saxony.
The Washington Post
Wed Mar 16 2016
VW stock fell as much as 2.2 percent to 113 euros in Frankfurt trading and was down 1.2 percent at 10 a.m.
AWANI Ringkas: 1MDB - Polis Jerman rampas 4 kereta Bugatti Veyron edisi terhad
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Gempa bumi Indonesia, Tasikmalaya paling terjejas
Sekurang-kurangnya empat orang cedera dan 27 keluarga lagi terkesan selepas satu gempa bumi dengan magnitud 6.2 melanda Daerah Garut di Jawa Barat pada pukul 11.29 pagi waktu tempatan, Ahad.
Air penstabil dan pemangkin pembangunan negara - Fadillah Yusof
Air merupakan komponen penting yang bertindak sebagai penstabil dan pemangkin untuk pembangunan negara yang mampan.
Pelaburan RM2.4 bilion dibawa masuk ke Terengganu - MB
Sebanyak RM2.4 bilion nilai pelaburan yang berpotensi sedang dibawa masuk ke Terengganu setakat bulan April ini.
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu: Kelayakan akademik bukan isu calon PN - Pas
Kempen PN sempena PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu tidak akan terjejas berikutan isu yang mengaitkan kelayakan akademik calonnya, Khairul Azhari Saut.
Peniaga nasi kukus raih jualan RM14,000 sebulan
Inisiatif Pendapatan Rakyat (IPR) mampu merubah graf pendapatan bulanan peserta apabila meningkatkan hasil jualan.
Piala Uber: Malaysia tewas kepada Taiwan
Malaysia memulakan kempen Kumpulan B Piala Uber 2024 mereka dengan langkah kiri apabila tewas 1-4 kepada Taiwan, di sini hari ini.
Imigresen tahan dalang warga Indonesia, jual produk kosmetik tanpa kelulusan KKM
Jabatan Imigresen menahan seorang wanita warga Indonesia berusia 50 tahun disyaki menjadi dalang penjualan produk kosmetik dan kecantikan yang tidak mendapat kelulusan KKM.
Sheriff: 9 hari tayangan, kaut RM28 juta!
Filem arahan Syafiq Yusof, Sheriff: Narko Intergriti kini meraih kutipan sebanyak RM28 juta dalam 9 hari tayangan.
Jaheaik sudah panggil artis wanita tular buat persembahan - Exco
Jaheaik sudah panggil artis wanita tular buat persembahan - Exco