Progress of the lawsuit against Volkswagen

On 6 April 2022 the pre-trial hearing took place. During this hearing the parties to the proceedings have expressed their views on the layout of the procedure. Stichting Car Claim requested the court of appeal to handle the appeal procedure with the necessary diligence. The court of appeal will decide what the further course of the proceedings will look like. In any event, Volkswagen et al. and the Dealers will first have to explain why they do not agree with the initial ruling of the court. 

The court has determined that the first hearing in the appeal proceedings will take place on April 6, 2022 at 9:30 a.m.

On October 13, 2021, Volkswagen, Audi, Seat and Skoda and the Dutch Dealers filed an appeal against the July 14, 2021 judgment of the Amsterdam District Court.

In the appeal, the Foundation will ask the Court of Appeal of Amsterdam to confirm the judgment of the District Court on the points where the District Court granted the Foundation's claims. The Foundation will also ask the Court of Appeal to award the (as yet) unawarded claims. Importer Pon and software supplier Bosch are not part of the appeal proceedings.

We will inform you as soon as more is known about the next steps in the appeal proceedings.

The court issued a judgement on July 14, 2021. The court ruled that Volkswagen et al. had committed fraud, and that duped Dutch motorists were entitled to compensation. The full judgment can be found here (Dutch).
 

The court has determined that the hearing in Phase 3 (substantive hearing) will take place on 26 and 27 May 2021, with 31 May as a reserve day.

The court has determined that the hearing in Phase 3 (substantive hearing) will take place on 26, 27 and (if necessary) 31 May 2021. The court notes that the direction of the European Court of Justice in the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal is sufficiently clear with the December 17, 2020 decision in case C-693/18, so that the Foundation's proceedings against Volkswagen c.s. can be continued.

The court has informed the Foundation that it has provisionally scheduled the session date in the third phase in the second quarter, in the period May 17 to 28, 2021. This is in view of the pending proceedings against Volkswagen before the European Court of Justice and the ongoing covid-19 measures. The court has given all involved parties the opportunity to make a proposal on January 6, 2021 on how the proceedings will be continued. The court's main principle is to guard against unnecessary delay in the proceedings. This means that the hearing will be scheduled as soon as reasonably possible.

The court initially decided that a hearing would take place on 25 May, 26 May and 28 May 2020 in Phase 3. Due to corona, these hearing days have been postponed to be determined by the court.

In phase 3, the court will assess the substance of the Foundation's claims. The court has determined that all defendants must respond in writing to the claims of the Foundation on 26 February 2020. A hearing in phase 3 will take place on 25 May, 26 May and 28 May 2020.

All other defences raised by defendants in phase 2 were rejected by the court.

The claims of the Foundation against Volkswagen, Audi, Škoda, SEAT, PON and the dealers will be assessed under Dutch law. Part of the claims against Bosch are governed by Dutch law. Another part will be judged under German law.

Part of the debate in the second phase was also the question of whether it is plausible that Dutch motorists have suffered damage because of Dieselgate. The defendants argued that there would be no damage. With the help of your input, the Foundation has substantiated that Dutch drivers have been (financially) harmed in various ways, because their cars are equipped with fraudulent software and the majority of the cars are now also equipped with the faulty (software) update. The court followed the Foundation's position. It considers it plausible that such damage may have been suffered.

The court has ruled that all claims of the Foundation against Volkswagen, Audi, Škoda, SEAT, PON and Bosch are suitable for consideration in the collective action proceedings. This also applies to the Foundation's main claims against the official Volkswagen dealers, i.e. the possibility for certain drivers to terminate the purchase agreement due to error or non-conformity. The question of whether in such a case a user fee may be withheld will be assessed for each car owner in a subsequent procedure. The Foundation believes that none of the dealers should be able to deduct a usage fee.

On 7 October 2019 there was an oral pleading in the second phase of the procedure. This second phase focuses on formal questions, including (i) whether the Foundation is competent to defend the interests of car owners in these proceedings and (ii) which law applies to the claims of the Foundation against Volkswagen c.s. and Bosch. All parties involved explained their views to the court during the hearing. At the end of the hearing, the court decided that it would rule on 20 November 2019 in the second phase of the procedure.

The second phase has started. The Court will raise a number of formal questions, after which it will examine the content of the claim in phase three. The District Court of Amsterdam has decided to give all parties - after exchanging written documents - the opportunity to explain their views orally during a plea in the second phase. The oral pleading will be held on Monday 7 October 2019.

During the first phase, only the former board members of Volkswagen objected to the jurisdiction of the District Court of Amsterdam. Volkswagen A.G. and the other defendants accepted the jurisdiction of the District Court of Amsterdam.

Since the proceedings against the defendants will be dealt with simultaneously, the proceedings against the former drivers would delay the progress of the proceedings against Volkswagen and the other defendants. The Foundation considers this undesirable. In order to speed up the proceedings, the Foundation has therefore decided to remove the former directors from the current proceedings. The second phase, in which the District Court will raise all kinds of other formal questions, can be started forthwith. The former directors can then be involved by the Foundation in a separate procedure.

On 6 November 2018, a pre-trial review took place. The goal was to make procedural agreements that prevent unnecessary delays during the trial.

The procedure will be split into three phases. Today the Court of Amsterdam ruled that its authority to adjudicate this case should be dealt with first. Next, a round will follow in which all sorts of formal questions are discussed, and finally the substance of the foundation's claims will be evaluated. The court has decided to maintain tight deadlines and that neither party will be granted postponement. As far as the foundation is concerned, this is good news. The sooner there is a verdict, the better it is for the owners of affected cars.

The foundation expects the Court of Amsterdam to rule in the first phase of the procedure before the summer of 2019.

In her writ of summons, the foundation has requested that a pre-trial review will be held before the substance of the case is dealt with. The foundation has made this request in order to make arrangements with the respondent parties (and the Amsterdam District Court) to ensure the procedure is as efficient as possible. The Court of Amsterdam has approved the pre-trial review. The pre-trial review will take place on 6 November 2018.

On 2 May 2018, an administrative session took place in which all the respondent parties reported to the Court of Amsterdam, represented by their lawyers.

In December 2017, the foundation summoned the respondent parties to appear before the Court of Amsterdam on 2 May 2018. The foundation chose a term that left ample time for the respondent parties to enter into discussions with the foundation about a solution proposed by the foundation. Unfortunately, the respondent parties have not entered in discussion with the foundation.