Car owners involved in the emissions scandal may leverage their vehicle's usage in compensation claims, as ruled by CJEU. - European Parliament Passes Resolution on the Crisis in the Ex-Yugoslav Region
In the ongoing legal saga of the Dieselgate scandal, court cases in Germany and Europe continue to unfold, with the Regional Court of Ravensburg handling lawsuits from car buyers against Volkswagen. However, a direct ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) specific to compensation for car buyers in Ravensburg, Germany, regarding issues such as offsetting car use and capping damage claims, has yet to be reported.
The first mass lawsuit in Germany related to Dieselgate, involving around 450,000 Volkswagen owners seeking damages, is ongoing at the Braunschweig Higher Regional Court near Wolfsburg. This German lawsuit aims to clarify legal points before claimants can file compensation claims. German laws have recently changed, allowing car buyers to sue manufacturers for being misled about emissions data.
The issues of how much to deduct for vehicle usage before or during the legal process (offset of use) and the maximum percentage limit of damages claims remain under judicial consideration, with no specific ECJ ruling on these matters cited. Ongoing high court rulings in the UK and the Netherlands have focused on document disclosure and establishing liability, but compensation specifics remain decided primarily at the national level or are still under judicial consideration.
In Ravensburg, the lawsuits against Volkswagen centre around the allegation that the thermostat window software, which reduces exhaust gas recirculation at an outside temperature of 10 degrees Celsius, is an illegal defeat device. The software, present in the cars in question, is alleged to be a breach of emissions regulations.
The Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe previously ruled that buyers in the diesel scandal can claim damages even in cases of negligence, with a maximum of 15 percent of the purchase price, and that the use of the car could be offset in damages claims. The ECJ has now confirmed both of these points.
The ECJ has also clarified that a car manufacturer is not automatically relieved of liability if a defeat device was approved by the national authority. The ECJ is based in Luxembourg. The Ravensburg court will now decide the concrete legal disputes regarding the lawsuits against Volkswagen.
In one of the cases in Ravensburg, a thermostat window was only installed later via an update. Two plaintiffs allege that their cars are equipped with the thermostat window software, which reduces exhaust gas recirculation at an outside temperature of 10 degrees Celsius, and is an illegal defeat device.
For the latest specific ECJ decisions or detailed compensation rules, consulting recent national court rulings from Braunschweig or legal databases after July 2025 would be necessary, as the search results do not provide this information. The evolving nature of these court cases underscores the need for continued monitoring and analysis of the legal landscape surrounding the Dieselgate scandal.
- Despite the ongoing legal battles in EC countries over the Dieselgate scandal, a definitive ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on specific compensation for car buyers, including matters like offsetting car use and capping damage claims, has yet to materialize.
- As the first mass lawsuit in Germany over Dieselgate progresses at the Braunschweig Higher Regional Court, the issues of vehicle usage offset and percentage limits on damages claims remain under judicial deliberation, with no ECJ ruling on these matters cited.
- In contrast to high court rulings in the UK and the Netherlands, which have mainly focused on document disclosure and establishing liability, compensation specifics in EC countries, such as those in Ravensburg, Germany, are largely decided at the national level or are still under judicial consideration.
