Diesel scandal lawsuit – what distinguishes the Daimler case from the VW case


With a special lawsuit, consumer advocates in Germany want to help thousands of Mercedes customers in the diesel scandal that has been smoldering for years. The court is supposed to clarify whether the car manufacturer Daimler has deliberately installed inadmissible defeat devices in its cars, thereby ensuring that they are more environmentally friendly than they really are. In the end, there could be compensation for damages, but the way to get there is complicated. An overview.

What kind of lawsuit is that?
The model declaratory action is a kind of “one-for-all” action: The Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv) takes legal action on behalf of thousands of car owners – with less effort and risk for the individual. Diesel drivers can join this lawsuit by registering free of charge in a lawsuit register at the Federal Office of Justice. This also prevents cases from becoming statute-barred at the end of the year. Once the negotiation has started, there is no more entry.

Can all of Daimler’s diesel customers take part?
No, at least not for now. The lawsuit only covers certain Mercedes models of the GLC and GLK series with the engine type OM 651, for which there was an official recall. Specifically, the following are: GLC 220 d 4Matic, GLC 250 d 4Matic, GLK 200 CDI, GLK 220 CDI, GLK 220 CDI 4Matic, GLK 220 BlueTec and GLK 250 BlueTec. Anyone who has since sold their car or had it scrapped can also take part. Anyone who has bought their car used can only participate if the software update that was ordered had not yet been installed at the time of purchase.

What can you get out of it?
Ultimately, it is about compensation for the car owners – but with intermediate steps. First of all, it should be decided whether Daimler acted immorally and deliberately at all. The court should also determine which defeat devices are installed in which cars. This involves, for example, the injection of Adblue urea solution, exhaust gas recirculation and temperature control for the cooling water. If the customer were granted a right to compensation, they would then have to enforce it themselves. So you cannot go to the car dealer with the verdict and claim your money back, but have to go to court. A comparison between Daimler and the vzbv would be more convenient. The consumer advocates were deliberately open to this.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a diesel customer if they join?
The lawsuit is intended to prevent customer claims from becoming statute-barred at the end of the year. So the diesel drivers can wait for the verdict in peace and then decide how to proceed. The judge’s verdict can significantly simplify follow-up proceedings because fundamental questions have already been clarified. The vzbv alone bears the risk of litigation costs. In a comparison, money would probably jump out directly for those involved. However, if the consumer advice centers lose, everyone in the complaint register is bound by this decision. So you can no longer sue for damages in other courts.

What came out of the model declaratory action against VW?
Consumer advocates filed a similar lawsuit against Volkswagen in 2018. At the beginning of 2020, a settlement was agreed that was accepted by around 245,000 customers. VW paid them between 1350 and 6250 euros, depending on the age and type of vehicle. Shortly afterwards, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) ruled that VW had systematically deceived its customers: If they had known that diesel cars with a certain engine emitted far more pollutants than could be measured on the test bench, they would probably have opted for a different vehicle, it was said. In most cases, plaintiffs were given the right to return their car, but had to take credit for use. Instead, many agreed with VW on a one-off payment and kept the car.

What is the difference between the VW and Daimler case?
At Daimler, there is so far no clear legal statement as to whether the car manufacturer acted deliberately or immorally. There have been a number of individual claims for damages – but with very different outcomes. In addition, the initial situation is more complicated: At VW it was only about a single disconnection device, at Daimler, from the vzbv’s point of view, there is a whole hodgepodge of allegations of manipulation. Daimler announced that in the individual proceedings before German regional and higher regional courts, around 95 percent of the cases had been decided in favor of the company. However, according to the company, this invoice concerns all diesel processes and not only those involving cars with the OM651 engine.

How and when can Mercedes drivers join the lawsuit?
The lawsuit register won’t be released for a couple of weeks. It is then open until one day before the hearing begins. The vzbv has summarized all information on the website www.musterfeststellungsklagen.de.

In Austria, Mercedes customers can contact the VSV consumer protection association, which joins the lawsuit. “The VSV supports Austrian owners of vehicles from Daimler Mercedes and offers free and risk-free connection to the model declaratory action by our German lawyer,” says Peter Kolba, chairman of the VSV. Even if the vzbv should also seek a settlement with Daimler excluding Austrians – as was the case with VW at the time – participation would make sense because it would interrupt the statute of limitations for claims.

What is the status of the processing of the diesel scandal at Daimler, apart from claims for damages due to allegedly inadmissible defeat devices?
The group has long been concerned with the affair on several levels. Almost two years ago, Daimler received a fine of around 870 million euros from the Stuttgart public prosecutor – for a negligent breach of the duty of supervision in a department dealing with vehicle certification, as it was called. As a result, diesel vehicles received permits, even though the emissions of nitrogen oxides from the cars did not meet the regulatory requirements in some cases. Apart from that, the public prosecutor’s office continues to investigate criminal offenses against employees of the group.

That’s it?
Not at all. On top of that, the group has to deal with hundreds of investor lawsuits filed at the Stuttgart Regional Court alone. Investors accuse Daimler of having informed the markets too late about the financial consequences of the diesel affair. As a result, the Daimler shares that investors bought were far too expensive at the time. The claims for damages against the car manufacturer in this context now add up to well over a billion euros. There should also be a model case at the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court for investor lawsuits – with the aim of clarifying fundamental questions. There is no start date yet.

What happened to the US investigation against Daimler?
In the meantime, Daimler has settled the dispute with authorities and customers in the USA over alleged violations of emissions regulations with a payment equivalent to more than 1.9 billion euros. In September, the carmaker settled investigative proceedings by the US authorities and also numerous lawsuits from car owners with two settlements. Daimler and its subsidiary Mercedes-Benz USA were accused of excessive emissions in around 250,000 diesel vehicles. However, criminal investigations that have been ongoing in the USA since 2016 in connection with the diesel affair are also excluded.