Because the ECJ set the hurdles in a Mercedes case from Germany in March significantly lower than the BGH.
(Photo: imago/Christian Ohde)
Karlsruhe The judges at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe have ruled that thermal windows in diesel engines are an illegal defeat device. The court in Karlsruhe ruled on Monday that car manufacturers must also pay compensation if they acted negligently. What that means in each individual case is still open.
According to the judgement, the claim for damages for diesel cars with thermal window technology also applies if this properly cleans exhaust gases of pollutants in a temperature range that is too small. In principle, the buyers are entitled to damages of five to 15 percent of the purchase price in this case, according to the judge’s verdict.
The BGH overturned judgments by courts that had dismissed claims for damages and referred them back. Judge Eva Menges said the courts of appeal would have to further clarify the question of liability. It is up to the car manufacturer to prove that a thermal window is working properly.
Car owners had sued Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen. Your diesel cars only comply with the pollutant limits for nitrogen oxide at certain outside temperatures. At high and low temperatures, exhaust gas cleaning is throttled to protect the engine. In principle, this is possible under EU law, but the limits for this were tightened by case law as a result of the diesel scandal.
The plaintiffs can recover part of the purchase price if an illegal defeat device is installed in the engines of their cars.
change in case law
With the judgment, the BGH changes its previous case law, according to which there was no claim for damages because only negligence and not intentional damage can be assumed in the case of thermal windows. The higher European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg had ruled that the buyer is entitled to compensation even in the event of negligence.
More than 100,000 procedures in Germany are still pending. The car manufacturers have so far refused to pay compensation because their technology is legally flawless and approved by the Federal Motor Transport Authority.
More on that shortly.
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