- Sparks fly as Orban berates EU 'elites' in parliament trip
- US finalizes rule to remove lead pipes within a decade
- Solanke hungry for second England cap after seven-year wait
- Gilded canopy restored at Vatican basilica
- Zverev scrapes through, Djokovic cruises to Shanghai Masters last 16
- Trump secretly sent Covid tests to Putin: Bob Woodward book
- Gauff answers critics: 'It's hard to win all the time'
- Neural networks, machine learning? Nobel-winning AI science explained
- China says raised 'serious concerns' with US over trade curbs
- Boeing delivers 27 MAX jets in September despite strike
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of other sex crimes
- Italy seek Nations League consistency as Germany continue rebuild
- From boom to budgeting as reality bites for Saudi football
- Stock markets diverge as Hong Kong sinks, oil prices fall
- US trade gap narrowest in five months as imports slip
- Stay and 'you are going to die': Florida braces for next hurricane
- England 96-1 after Salman's century lifts Pakistan to 556
- Hollywood star Idris Elba champions African cinema in Ghana
- Djokovic rolls Cobolli to make Shanghai Masters last 16
- Milan's Hernandez receives two-game suspension after referee rant
- Geoffrey Hinton, soft-spoken godfather of AI
- Ex-Barcelona and Spain great Iniesta retires aged 40
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for 'foundational' AI breakthroughs
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China slaps provisional tariffs on EU brandy imports
- Ex-skipper Skelton eyes Wallabies November return
- Spanish great Iniesta leaves indelible legacy after retirement
- Indian Kashmir elects first regional government in a decade
- Hong Kong stocks crash, oil prices retreat on fading China boost
- Man City accuse Premier League of 'misleading' claims after legal case
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
- Agha defies England as Pakistan post 515-8 in first Test
- September second-warmest on record: EU climate monitor
- Pastor wanted by US for sex trafficking to run for Philippine senate
- Mozambican writer Mia Couto dreams future leaders set an 'example'
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case cleared in separate sex crimes trial
- Israel expands offensive against Hezbollah in south Lebanon
- China stocks rally fizzles on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Bangladesh's Yunus says no elections before reforms
- England strike twice as Pakistan reach 397-6 at lunch in first Test
- China stocks rally peters out on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Taiwan's Foxconn says building world's largest 'superchip' plant
- Kenya's deputy president faces impeachment vote
- N. Korean soldiers 'highly likely' killed in Ukraine: Seoul
- 'Appeals Centre' to referee EU social media disputes
- US Supreme Court to hear 'ghost guns' regulation case
- 'Small' oil leaks detected in Samoa after NZ navy shipwreck
- Nobel literature jury may go for non-Western writer
RBGPF | -0.46% | 60.52 | $ | |
RYCEF | 1.29% | 6.97 | $ | |
VOD | -0.16% | 9.675 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.12% | 24.54 | $ | |
RELX | 1.13% | 46.565 | $ | |
AZN | -0.24% | 76.685 | $ | |
GSK | -1.32% | 38.125 | $ | |
BTI | -0.06% | 35.18 | $ | |
NGG | 0.79% | 66 | $ | |
SCS | 0.23% | 12.98 | $ | |
RIO | -4.72% | 66.481 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.59% | 24.938 | $ | |
JRI | 0.15% | 13.2 | $ | |
BP | -3.74% | 31.946 | $ | |
BCC | 0.3% | 141.695 | $ | |
BCE | -0.8% | 33.264 | $ |
German court approves claims over illegal diesel exhaust software
A top German court on Monday opened the way to further compensation claims against carmakers that installed illegal diesel exhaust treatment software, following a landmark European ruling.
Diesel owners with the "thermal window" programme would be entitled to a payout if their vehicles risked being taken off the road, said the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH).
The decision followed a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in March that consumers had a right to compensation if their vehicles had the software installed. The ECJ left it to German courts to determine the exact scope for claims.
The illegal programme reduced or even completely deactivated emissions filtering when temperatures were below 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit) and higher than 33 degrees Celsius.
Carmakers long argued that their use of the software was necessary to protect the engine -- even if it made the car more polluting.
But experience showed that car owners "would not have bought the vehicle at the agreed price" had they known about the software, according to the BGH.
The buyer of the vehicle incurred damages when its use was threatened by "an impending operating restriction or ban", the court in Karlsruhe said.
As such, successful claimants would be entitled to between five and 15 percent of the price of the automobile in compensation.
Automakers had to demonstrate they did not "intentionally or negligently" install the software to avoid a payout, the court ruled.
- 'Millions of consumers' -
The original ECJ judgement came after a German court in Ravensburg asked it to weigh in on a case brought by the owner of a Mercedes-Benz vehicle equipped with the "thermal window" software.
German judges had until now set high hurdles for damages, asking plaintiffs to prove that the car manufacturer had intentionally harmed the buyer rather than merely being negligent.
German consumer lawyer Claus Goldenstein, who represents some 50,000 claimants in emissions-cheating cases, said the BGH ruling could benefit "millions of consumers in Europe".
"It has never been easier to assert claims for damages than it is now," Goldenstein said in a statement, predicting a "wave of lawsuits" in Germany.
The "thermal window" software issue is different from the scandal that erupted in 2015 when Volkswagen admitted to installing illegal defeat devices in millions of diesel cars to dupe emissions tests.
The software behind the so-called dieselgate scandal made cars seem less polluting in the lab than they were on the road.
The revelation led to a flood of lawsuits against the German giant, and has likewise ensnared other carmakers.
H.E.Young--AMWN